Enertech will market the Hemiwedge® Cartridge Valve technology for applications in Nuclear Power Plants worldwide
CONROE, TX – February 23, 2009 – Hemiwedge Industries, Inc. (OTCBB: HWEG) announced today that Enertech, a business unit of Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Company focused on provisioning products and services for the nuclear power industry, has signed a strategic exclusive supply agreement with Hemiwedge Valve Corp (HVC). HVC will manufacture and supply the Hemiwedge® Cartridge Valve product line to Enertech, who will market the valve line in new construction commercial nuclear power plants worldwide. The Hemiwedge® Cartridge Valve enables Enertech to deliver a technical advantage to nuclear power plant builders and end users. HVC will also provide product technical support during the sales process, quotation development, contract negotiation, and during installation and start-up. Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Company is a business unit of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW).
The Company also announced that Enertech will serve as the technical sales, marketing, and applications engineering team for all HVC nuclear valve installations worldwide. HVC believes this will ensure the continued supply of genuine Hemiwedge® OEM products and spare parts to support newly constructed nuclear plants worldwide.
While HVC does maintain their ISO 9001 QA program, they will also rely on Enertech's QA process to provide Safety-Related and ASME Section III components to end users.
Hemiwedge® Cartridge Valve technology is expected to provide benefits for nuclear power applications, including significant reduction in downtime, enhanced safety and reliability, tight shutoff and environmental sealing, and superior operational performance. Key features include a replaceable cartridge that permits easy repair or inspection, mechanical sealing in both resilient and metal seats, and low hydrodynamic torque in emergency shutdown applications.
“Enertech has been committed to the nuclear power industry since its inception in 1967, and our firm recognizes the importance of supply chain strategic relationships to provide the highest level of value products and services to our customers within the commercial nuclear power industry,” stated Stan Miller, General Manager of Enertech. Mr. Miller continued, “This teaming agreement allows Enertech to provide new leading edge technology to advance the industry while working with a strategic partner.”
Ken Chickering, President of HVC, stated, “We are proud to partner with such a leading organization as Curtiss-Wright who enjoys a great reputation in the industry. HVC’s teaming agreement with Enertech provides entry into the nuclear power market, which we believe is an important target market for our product line as nuclear power is increasingly recognized as a clean, reliable, and economic source of energy.”
Mr. Chickering also noted that “for over 50 years, Curtiss-Wright has been serving the nuclear power markets, including the first U.S. nuclear power plant built at Shippingsport, PA, and the first nuclear submarine ever commissioned. Over the years, they have positioned themselves as a leader in critical nuclear-related technologies through their commitment to advanced product design and development.”
About Hemiwedge Valve Corp
Hemiwedge Valve Corporation (“HVC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hemiwedge Industries, operates as a global supplier of engineered valve products. In its 60,000 square foot ISO 9001 and API Q1 approved facility in Conroe, Texas, the Company manufactures and markets worldwide a patented proprietary new valve technology known as the Hemiwedge® Cartridge Valve product line. The Hemiwedge® Cartridge Valve is an innovative design that incorporates the positive features of ball, gate, plug, and high performance valves resulting in a mechanically sealing, tight shutoff valve with a simple quarter-turn operation that provides outstanding longevity and performance in a broad range of applications. The “Cartridge” feature mitigates expensive downtime during valve maintenance as all of the internal parts of the valve are affixed to the bonnet, where a quick exchange Cartridge can be performed while in-line service, especially relevant in weld-in line valve bodies. The product line currently ranges in sizes from two inch to twenty inches, ANSI class 150 through 1500 and API 6D applications such as refining, mining, process, pipeline, power, mid-stream and petro-chemical markets. For additional information on the Company and its products, please visit www.hemiwedge.com.
About Curtiss-Wright
Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a diversified company headquartered in Roseland, N.J. The company designs, manufactures and overhauls products for motion control and flow control applications, and provides a variety of metal treatment services. The firm employs approximately 7,600 people worldwide. More information on Curtiss-Wright can be found at www.curtisswright.com.
About Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Company
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control specializes in the design and manufacture of highly engineered valves, pumps, motors, generators, electronics, and related products for the commercial nuclear power industry, oil and gas processing facilities, and a range of critical military programs. CWFC's innovative, high-performance products play an integral role in our nation's defense and in the safe, efficient operation of power plants and other industrial sites worldwide. Based in Falls Church, VA, the company has 3,000 employees worldwide and is the Flow Control operating segment of Curtiss-Wright Corp. For more information, visit cwfc.com and www.enertechnuclear.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains discussion of items that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurances that its expectations will be achieved. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, customer concentration risk, difficulties in refinancing or restructuring its debt, difficulties in accelerating internal sales growth, volatility of the energy business and its effects on the Company's business, difficulties in new technology acceptance within the energy and process industries, restrictive covenants in our existing credit facilities, fluctuations in metals prices, an inability to perform customer contracts at anticipated cost levels, political and economic global supply chain risk, general economic conditions in markets in which we do business, extensive environmental and workplace regulation by federal and state agencies, and other general risks related to its common stock, and other uncertainties and business issues that are detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this release and in the attachments is as of February 23, 2009 and the Company undertakes no duty to update this information.
Source: Hemiwedge Industries, Inc.
Contact:
Ken Chickering, President
Hemiwedge Valve Corp.
936-539-5770
Don Hudson, VP, Business Development
Enertech
714-528-2301