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A.O. Smith and Saftronics Announce Alliance to Market AC Drives

April 2, 2000

Media Contacts

Saftronics:
David van der Merwe, President,
941-693-7200; davidv@saftronics.com; www.saftronics.com

A.O. Smith:
Gary Wolfe, Marketing Manager, Integral Horsepower Motors,
937.667.2431, ex. 2451; gwolfe@aosepc.com; www.aosmithmotors.com

Alliance strengthens A.O. Smith’s position as leading single-source supplier of motors and rounds-out Saftronics’ distribution channels.

A.O. Smith and Saftronics have announced the formation of a strategic alliance that allows both companies to enhance their complementary marketing capabilities.

Under terms of the agreement, A.O. Smith supplements its broad line of commercial and industrial motors with the Saftronics line of AC drives. This move enhances A.O. Smith’s position as a market leader at providing a multitude of motor solutions from a single-source.

In addition, Saftronics will leverage A.O. Smith’s existing distribution-channel strength to augment its own channels.

"This alliance positions us to offer a comprehensive list of motor and drive products that will satisfy a wide range of standard catalog and more application-specific requirements," said Paul Doyle, vice president, marketing, for A.O. Smith Electrical Products Company (EPC). "This partnership supports our commitment to meet the complete motor-related needs of our customers, particularly our industrial and commercial distributors."

David van der Merwe, president of Saftronics adds, "This new relationship expands our presence in specific channel niches which are critical to continuing the aggressive growth Saftronics has experienced in recent years. Our two companies are also uniquely compatible in the ways we manage our business and how we go to market, adding to the strength of this alliance."

Based in Ft. Myers, Fla., Saftronics develops and manufactures solid-state motor controls. The company has subsidiaries in Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Charlotte, N.C. During the past 25 years, Saftronics and its affiliates have supplied AC drives, solid-state starters, and DC drives to a host of major industries, including textile, lumber, plastic, paper, oil, HVAC and wastewater operations. Those products are used in a wide variety of equipment and applications, including conveyors, pumps, fans, hoists, elevators and general process-control systems.

A.O. Smith Electrical Products Company, based in Tipp City, Ohio, is A.O. Smith Corporation's largest operating unit with 1999 sales of $723 million. It manufactures a comprehensive line of hermetic, subfractional, fractional, and integral horsepower AC and DC electric motors used in a wide array of consumer, commercial, and industrial products.