Exhibit 99.2
ESCO Technologies
For more information contact: For media inquiries:
Patricia K. Moore David P. Garino
Director, Investor Relations (314) 982-0551
ESCO Technologies Inc.
(314) 213-7277
ESCO ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL AMI ORDERS AT PG&E
ST. LOUIS, May 6, 2008 - ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE) today announced
that subsequent to the quarter ended March 31, 2008, Pacific Gas and Electric
Company (PG&E) has placed follow-on orders for an additional 100,000 Aclara RF
electric and an additional 119,000 Aclara RF gas advanced metering
infrastructure (AMI) products for PG&E's SmartMeter Program. The total value of
these April 2008 orders was $11.1 million.
Earlier in the year, PG&E indicated its intent to order additional
quantities of Aclara RF electric AMI devices throughout 2008, and these
additional 100,000 RF electric units are a step toward this intended goal.
The $11.1 million of new orders are in addition to the $32.3 million of
orders received during the 2008 second quarter as disclosed in the Company's
earnings release dated May 6, 2008, which brings the fiscal 2008 year-to-date
total PG&E orders to $57.6 million.
Since the inception of its SmartMeter Program, PG&E has placed firm orders
with Aclara for 1.7 million total AMI units with a total contract value of
$112.4 million through today, with the expectation of additional orders over the
remainder of fiscal 2008.
The 1.7 million Aclara units ordered to date include approximately 390,000
TWACS power-line system units; approximately 190,000 STAR RF electric units;
and approximately 1.1 million STAR RF gas units, along with related network
infrastructure and software.
The RF electric units will operate under PG&E's installed STAR Network AMI
system which currently manages data from nearly 300,000 gas meters already
installed in the region.
Gary Moore, President of Aclara RF Systems, commented, "We are enthusiastic
about the performance of our suite of new product offerings, and excited that
PG&E will expand its deployment of Aclara's AMI technology for its electric as
well as gas requirements in theCentral Valley. We believe that this decision
will allow PG&E to cost-effectively expand its industry leading AMI system and
leverage its present fixed-network infrastructure while meeting the requirements
of its customers for energy-efficient utility solutions today, and well into the
future."
Vic Richey, ESCO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "I am
very pleased to be partnered with PG&E on this AMI deployment and I'm proud to
announce that we have nearly 1.7 million AMI units under contract with this
valued customer. We remain committed to supporting PG&E in their SmartMeter
program, and we will not waver in our support of helping PG&E achieve its stated
AMI goals. We will continue to invest time and resources in new products and
innovative ideas which continue to show results that allow PG&E to expand its
Aclara product deployment. Although PG&E has not concluded its evaluation of
competing electric AMI technologies, we believe this decision to deploy
additional Aclara products during 2008 is a promising development and will allow
us to demonstrate on a large scale the features and benefits that our hybrid
electric solution offers."
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding the amounts and timing of fiscal
2008 and beyond electric or gas product deliveries to PG&E, the ultimate outcome
of PG&E's ongoing assessment of electric AMI technologies, benefits derived by
PG&E, future investments, and any other written or oral statements which are not
strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the
safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. Investors are cautioned
that such statements are only predictions and speak only as of the date of this
release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update. The Company's actual
results in the future may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties that exist in the
Company's operations and business environment including, but not limited to: the
risk factors described in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, and in Part II, Item 1A of the
Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended December 31,
2007; actions by the California Public Utility Commission; PG&E's Board of
Directors or PG&E's Management impacting PG&E's AMI projects; PG&E's evaluation
of other technologies to meet their requirements for the electric portion of its
service territory; the success of the Company's competitors; changes in or the
effect of the Federal Energy Bill; the timing and content of purchase order
releases underthe PG&E contracts; the Company's successful performance of the
PG&E contracts; weakening of economic conditions in served markets; changes in
customer demands or customer insolvencies; competition; intellectual property
rights; technical difficulties; delivery delays or defaults by customers;
termination for convenience of customer contracts; timing and magnitude of
future contract awards; performance issues with key customers, suppliers and
subcontractors; labor disputes; and changes in laws and regulations.
About Aclara
The Aclara brand represents the industry's leading fixed-network AMI/AMR
technologies and MDM software serving water, gas, and electric utilities
worldwide. While Aclara is the singular brand and identity, the Company retains
the known technology brands of DCSI (TWACS), Hexagram, Inc. (STAR Network),
and Nexus Energy Software (Energy Vision and ENERGYprism). These three companies
operate as Aclara Power-Line Systems Inc., Aclara RF Systems Inc., and Aclara
Software Inc., respectively. Further information regarding Aclara is available
on the Company's web site at www.AclaraTech.com.
About ESCO
ESCO, headquartered in St. Louis, is a proven supplier of special purpose
utility solutions for electric, gas, and water utilities, including hardware and
software to support advanced metering applications and fully automated
intelligent instrumentation. In addition, the Company provides engineered
filtration products to the aviation, space and process markets worldwide and is
the industry leader in RF shielding and EMC test products. Further information
regarding ESCO and its subsidiaries is available on the Company's web site at
www.escotechnologies.com.
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