SMS MEER

Düsseldorf, February 11, 2009
SMS Meer acquires majority shareholding in PWS Automatisierungs- und Elektrotechnik GmbH In December 2008 SMS Meer GmbH, Mönchengladbach, a company of the SMS group, Germany, took over a majority shareholding in
PWS Automatisierungs- und Elektrotech nik GmbH, Markdorf, Germany. SMS Meer has thus expanded its product range to include plants for the production of spiral-welded pipes using the online and offline process. In addition to machines for the production of spiralwelded pipes, the PWS product range also includes pipe endfinishing machines, hydrostatic pipe testers and the corresponding machine groups. The automation of these and other key machines as
well as the integration of the periphery and handling equipment for the complete plant also form part of the range of products and services offered by PWS. Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, President & CEO of SMS Meer: “With this
acquisition we are expanding our spectrum with excellent and highly innovative products and can thus serve our customers even better as a full-line provider.”
PWS will continue to operate as an independent unit within SMS Meer. The sole shareholders to date, Adalbert Pfeiffer and Michael Stark, will remain Managing Directors of the company and co-owners of PWS.
Michael Stark, Managing Director of PWS GmbH: “We see great synergy potentials in the merger with SMS Meer. The global presence of the company and its market position as technology leader offer us attractive and sustainable growth opportunities.” SMS group is, under the roof of the holding SMS GmbH, a group of companies internationally
active in plant construction and mechanical engineering for the steel and nonferrous metals industry. It consists of the two Business Areas SMS Demag and SMS Meer, which jointly form SMS metallurgy. In 2007, some 8,000 employees worldwide generated a turnover of about EUR 3.0 bn.