LUFKIN, Texas, June 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lufkin Industries,
Inc. announced today the official opening of its new manufacturing
facility near Ploiesti, Romania,
north of the capital, Bucharest.
The new facility includes a state of the art manufacturing plant
as well as a modern aftermarket and re-manufacturing facility. It
is currently staffed with 260 skilled local personnel, and is
expected to reach 350 employees by year end. The facility's primary
purpose is to manufacture Lufkin's
Beam Pumping Units, with the ability to produce over 1,100 units
per year. In addition, the facility will service and support the
sale of all Lufkin products in the
Eastern Hemisphere. Approximately 90% of the production at this
facility is expected to be for export to end markets in more than
20 countries.
Jay Glick, CEO and President,
stated, "This is a landmark day for Lufkin. This new facility is a critical step
in our strategy to expand our geographic reach to better serve our
global customers. We anticipate that the Romanian operation will
serve as a strategic hub for our Eastern Hemisphere markets. This
facility should allow us to secure new customers and take advantage
of the increasing use of artificial lift for oil and gas wells.
"I'd like to thank the people of Romania and the Romanian Government for
welcoming Lufkin into their
country and for providing meaningful support in making this
facility a reality. We look forward to a long-term partnership in
which Lufkin could potentially
employ hundreds of Romanian citizens and benefit from the country's
vast natural resources and emerging position as a regional energy
hub."
This facility was built on an 82 acre site with an estimated
cost of US$140 million. The
Government of Romania, through the
Ministry of Public Finance, provided Lufkin with economic development incentives
and financial assistance of 28 million
Euros towards the construction costs.
Lufkin Industries, Inc. sells and services oilfield pumping
units, well automation systems, gas lift and plunger lift systems,
progressive cavity pumps, well completion products, foundry
castings and power transmission products throughout the world.
Lufkin has vertically integrated
all vital technologies required to design, manufacture and market
its products.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and
are based on the beliefs and assumptions of our management, based
on information currently available to our management.
Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the
future tense or other forward-looking words such as "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "should,"
"may," "objective," "projection," "forecast," "management
believes," "continue," "strategy," "position" or the negative of
those terms or other variations of them or by comparable
terminology. In particular, statements, express or implied,
regarding our anticipated use of the Romanian operations and the
expected benefits thereof are forward-looking statements.
Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, they are subject to
risks and uncertainties and are made in light of information
currently available to us. Many factors may cause actual results to
differ from those projected in our forward-looking statements,
including a change in our over-arching business strategy or,
assuming the closing of the previously announced merger with
General Electric Company ("GE") occurs, GE's business strategy.
Contact:
|
Christopher L. Boone
|
|
Lufkin Industries Inc.,
|
|
Chief Financial Officer
|
|
T.
+1-936-631-2749
|
|
|
|
Luiza Cretu
|
|
Nicola Porter Novelli
|
|
luiza.cretu@porternovelli.ro
|
|
T. +40-755-070-101
|
|
|
|
Dennard - Lascar
Associates
|
|
Jack Lascar / T.
+1-713-529-6600
|
|
Anne Pearson / T. +1-
210-408-6321
|