Begins Producing Color for European Tile Market
CLEVELAND & CASTELLON, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25,
2007--Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE) has commissioned its new tile color
plant in Castellon, Spain, just a year after breaking ground on its
sprawling campus in this southern Spain city.
The plant includes approximately 12,000 square meters (approx.
129,000 square feet) for production, quality control and supporting
laboratory facilities. It includes state-of-the-art material handling
and production technologies that increase manufacturing efficiency and
that optimize the quality and consistency of Ferro's glaze and body
stain product lines sold to the growing European tile market.
"We began producing and shipping color this week - a month ahead
of schedule," said Michael J. Murry, Vice President, Inorganic
Specialties. "We're ramping up to reach annual production capacity of
over 20,000 metric tons of color products."
Julio Garcia, European Business Manager for Ferro Tile Coating
Systems, said, "Ferro has produced color products in Castellon for 42
years. This major investment enables us to build on our position as a
valued supplier and technical advisor to our customers. We are very
excited by the opportunity to carry on Ferro's long-standing tradition
of excellence in serving our customers throughout Europe and the
world."
In addition to colors, other facilities at Ferro's Castellon site
produce a range of products used by leading ceramic tile
manufacturers.
About Ferro Corporation
Ferro Corporation (http://www.ferro.com) is a leading global
supplier of technology-based performance materials for manufacturers.
Ferro materials enhance the performance of products in a variety of
end markets, including electronics, telecommunications, solar energy,
pharmaceuticals, building and renovation, appliances, automotive,
household furnishings, and industrial products.
Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the Company
has approximately 6,700 employees globally and reported 2006 sales of
$2.0 billion.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this Ferro press release may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Federal securities
laws. These statements are subject to a variety of uncertainties,
unknown risks and other factors concerning the Company's operations
and business environment, which are difficult to predict and often
beyond the control of the Company.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements,
and that could adversely affect the Company's future financial
performance, include, but are not limited to the following:
- the availability and cost of raw materials and other supplies;
- intense competition in the markets the Company serves;
- successful execution of projects designed to improve operating
margins;
- successful execution of restructuring programs to improve
manufacturing efficiency and reduce costs;
- the unpredictability and cyclicality of demand in the
Company's markets;
- exposure to currency conversion and changing global economic,
social and political conditions;
- the Company's ability to compete lawfully with local
competitors in the Asia/Pacific region;
- aggressive global regulation of hazardous materials could
affect sales of our products;
- costs of compliance with stringent environmental, health, and
safety regulations;
- access to capital markets or borrowings;
- variable interest rates on some of our external borrowings
could increase;
- encumbrances on the Company's assets granted to lenders affect
our flexibility to dispose of assets;
- restrictive covenants in our credit facilities could affect
our flexibility in funding strategic initiatives;
- the Company's ability to utilize significant deferred tax
assets;
- the outcome of any legal claims against the Company;
- the Company's ability to continuously introduce new products
to respond to demand;
- the uncertainty of future employee benefit costs and the
impact of funding of those costs; and
- risks associated with acts of God, terrorists, and others, as
well as fires, explosions, wars, riots, accidents, embargos,
natural disasters, strikes and other work stoppages,
quarantines and other governmental actions, and other events
or circumstances that are beyond the Company's reasonable
control.
Additional information regarding these risk factors can be found
in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended
December 31, 2006.
This release contains time-sensitive information that reflects
management's best analysis only as of the date of this release. The
Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information
or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.
CONTACT:
Ferro Corporation
Investor Contact:
David Longfellow
216-875-7155
Director, Investor Relations
Ferro Corporation
E-mail: longfellowd@ferro.com
or
Media Contact:
Mary Abood
216-875-6202
Director, Corporate Communications, Ferro Corporation
E-mail: aboodm@ferro.com
SOURCE:
Ferro Corporation
