HOUSTON, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dresser-Rand Group Inc. ("Dresser-Rand" or the "Company") today confirmed that the members of IAM Moore Lodge # 1580 representing 280 workers at its Wellsville, New York facility have ratified a new contract. The contract is effective February 1, 2006 through August 15, 2009.
Negotiations between the union and company focused on actions that would help ensure the long-term future of the facility. In September 2005, Dresser-Rand completed its purchase of certain assets of Tuthill Energy Systems a division of Tuthill Corporation. With this acquisition, Dresser-Rand acquired three additional manufacturing facilities for its steam turbine business expanding its global steam turbine manufacturing capacity.
Company officials said that the new agreement is an important step in finalizing a restructuring plan for its steam turbine business. The company is evaluating the rationalization of products, market channels, and manufacturing footprint to enhance its overall competitiveness in this intensely competitive product line.
"The Wellsville plant has significant labor cost disadvantages that could have resulted in Dresser-Rand shifting production to its more competitive facilities around the world, commented Chris Rossi, Vice President and General Manager of Dresser-Rand's North American Operations. Rossi commended union leadership for working cooperatively with the company to find ways to improve the competitiveness of the Wellsville operation. We knew this would be a very difficult negotiation, and one that needed to occur in a short time frame. However, we wanted to give the union and our employees the opportunity to positively impact their future. We are proud of our employees, their dedication to their work, and are very pleased that together we have achieved this result."
Vincent R. Volpe, Jr., President and CEO, added his appreciation for the work of the union leadership and the company's negotiating team. "I want to thank our employees for taking this huge step toward making Wellsville competitive. Our employees around the world are some of the most skilled in the industry, and I continue to be impressed by their dedication to the long-term success of Dresser-Rand," said Volpe.
Dresser-Rand is among the largest suppliers of rotating equipment solutions to the worldwide oil, gas, petrochemical, and process industries. The Company operates manufacturing facilities in the United States, France, Germany, Norway, India, and Brazil, and maintains a network of 24 service and support centers covering 105 countries.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Many risks and uncertainties may impact the matters addressed in the forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. For a discussion of the factors that could cause actual results to differ, please see the disclosure under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's periodic quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For information about Dresser-Rand, go to our website at http://www.dresser-rand.com/.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: blaise_e_derrico@dresser-rand.com
