Kadant Integrates Canadian Operations
SUMMERSTOWN, Ontario, July 30, 2007 – Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) announces that its two Canadian subsidiaries, Kadant AES Canada Corp. and Kadant Johnson Canada Inc., have merged to form Kadant Canada Corp. On July 1, 2007, the two companies began operating as a single entity serving the entire Canadian market with Kadant’s full line of paper machinery equipment and services.“After a successful integration of our external sales forces in Canada last year, the next logical move was to consolidate our two Canadian offices for improved efficiencies. We are now working on the integration of customer service, engineering, design, production, and administration,” stated Eric T. Langevin, senior vice president of Kadant’s Paper Line sector. “Based on this new organizational structure, we expect to realize enhanced efficiencies both for our customers and internally.”
Mike Soucy, president of Kadant Johnson Canada Inc., has been appointed president of Kadant Canada Corp., and Irene Gobeil, vice president of finance and operations at Kadant AES Canada Corp., is vice president, finance, operations, and HR at Kadant Canada Corp. Contact details including telephone, fax, and email remain unchanged.
Kadant Inc. is a leading supplier to the global pulp and paper industry, with a range of products and services for improving efficiency and quality in pulp and paper production, including paper machine accessories and systems for stock preparation, fluid handling, and water management. Our fluid-handling products are also used to optimize production in the steel, rubber, plastics, food, and textile industries. In addition, we produce granules from papermaking byproducts for agricultural and lawn and garden applications. Kadant is based in Westford, Massachusetts, with revenues of $342 million in 2006 and 2,000 employees in 16 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.kadant.com.
The following constitutes a “Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including forward-looking statements about the expected benefits of the consolidation Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such statements are set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in Kadant’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2007. These include risks and uncertainties relating to our dependence on the pulp and paper industry; significance of sales and operation of manufacturing facilities in China; international sales and operations; competition; our debt obligations; restrictions in our credit agreement; future warranty claims associated with the discontinued operation; our acquisition strategy; future restructurings; risks associated with our fiber-based products business; protection of patents and proprietary rights; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; and anti-takeover provisions. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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