Bauer and Brasfond establish joint venture to market deep-level drilling rig in Brazil
Schrobenhausen (euro adhoc) -
Production and distribution partnership agreed for deep-level drilling rig TBA 200 Bauer opening up Brazilian market
ots.CorporateNews transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
cooperations/heavy construction
Schrobenhausen / Rio de Janeiro, February 17, 2009 - Construction and equipment manufacturing group BAUER AG and the Brazilian Brasfond Group have today announced their intention to enter into a joint venture. BAUER Maschinen GmbH and specialist foundation engineering company Brasfond Fundações Especiales S/A signed the relevant Memorandum of Understanding today in Rio de Janeiro. In it, the two parties agree to establish a strategic partnership for the manufacture and distribution of the TBA 200 deep-level drilling rig on the Brazilian market.
The new drilling rig is currently under development at Bauer headquarters in Schrobenhausen, Germany. It is designed to extract oil and gas from deep and difficult-to-access locations.
The first TBA 200 deep-level drilling rig is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009, and will then be shipped from Germany to Brazil. There has already been some initial interest, from partially state-owned Brazilian oil company Petrobras. The long-term goal of the partnership is to build technology know-how in Brazil in order to establish local production. Bauer is supplying the key rig components, while Brasfond is contributing components such as trailers and power packs.
As a customer of BAUER Maschinen GmbH, Brasfond is already using drilling rigs and grabs made in Schrobenhausen, and will shortly be employing the prize-winning Cutter Soil Mixing (CSM) method devised by the German innovator in the construction of underground walls.
"This joint venture with a well-respected and long-established partner will help the BAUER Group gain a foothold on the Brazilian market", says Professor Thomas Bauer, Chairman of the Management Board of BAUER AG. "In view of the country´s major oil and gas resources, we see great potential for our business there."
About Bauer Bauer is a provider of services, machinery and ancillary products in the earth-working and groundwater fields. The Group markets its products and services all over the world. Its global spread allows it to remain largely unaffected by fluctuating business cycles. The operations of the Group are divided into three segments: Construction, Equipment and Resources. The Construction segment carries out specialist foundation engineering work all over the world, developing foundation and excavation projects as well as providing related construction services. In its Equipment segment, in which it is a world market leader, Bauer offers an extensive range of machinery, equipment and tools for specialist foundation engineering. The Resources segment encompasses the Group´s operations in the exploitation of raw materials, in environmental technology, in geothermal drilling operations and also in equipment for wells (including pumps and drills, screens and casings). Bauer profits greatly from the collaboration between its three separate segments, enabling the Group to position itself as an innovative, highly specialized provider of complete solutions and services for demanding projects on the specialist foundation engineering and related markets. Founded in 1790, Bauer today generates more than two thirds of its total revenues outside of Germany. Employing nearly 7,000 people, the Group´s total revenues in 2007 were EUR 1.2 billion (previous year: EUR 980 million). BAUER Aktiengesellschaft has been listed on the official market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 4, 2006 (Prime Standard, ISIN DE0005168108).
About Brasfond The BRASFOND GROUP is a recognized regional leader in the creation and application of the most modern, innovative technologies in the underground industry. Brasfond employs around 700 people and its headquarters are based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The group constituted by Brasfond Fundações Esp. S/A is a Brazilian company specialized in onshore foundations. Constituted in 1976, it has already participated and completed over 1500 projects all over South and Central America with a highly qualified and specialized team. Other companies in the Brasfond Group are Brasfix, specialized in offshore foundations and horizontal directional drilling, SPFE (Sociedade Portuguesa de Fundações Esp.) which is based in Portugal and has the objective of developing its activities in Europe and Africa and BTC (Brasfond Tunnelling Company), a company involved in large diameter mechanized tunnelling with the use of tunnel boring machines (TBM) and deep shafts.
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
Bettina Mestenhauser
Head of Corporate Communication & Investor Relations
BAUER Aktiengesellschaft
Wittelsbacherstraße 5
86529 Schrobenhausen
Tel.: +49 8252 97 1918
Fax: +49 8252 97 2900
Mob.: +49 171 755 9210
E-Mail: investor.relations@bauer.de
Internet: http://www.bauer.de
Nicola Libano
Superintendent Director
Brasfond Fundações Eso, S/A
Rua Olimpiadas, 200
São Paulo, Brasilien
Tel: +55 11 30484388
Fax: +55 11 30289812
e-mail: adm@brasfond.com.br
http:/www.brasfond.com.br
Branche: Construction & Property
ISIN: DE0005168108
WKN: 516810
Index: MDAX, CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Börse Berlin / free trade
Börse Hamburg / free trade
Börse Stuttgart / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Börse München / free trade