Pentair and GE Water Process Technologies form global residential water filtration joint venture

Pentair, Inc. and GE Water & Process Technologies, a unit of the General Electric Company, have announced a joint venture to combine their respective global water softener and residential water filtration businesses.

Pentair  is a diversified operating company headquartered in Minnesota. Its Water Group is a global leader in providing innovative products and systems used worldwide in the movement, treatment, storage and enjoyment of water. Pentair's Technical Products Group is a leader in the global enclosures and thermal management markets, designing and manufacturing thermal management products and standard, modified, and custom enclosures that house and protect sensitive electronics and electrical components. The company  reported 2007 revenues of $3.30 billion.

A world leader in water and wastewater treatment and process systems, GE Water & Process Technologies, a unit of General Electric Company offers a broad portfolio of global expertise and local capabilities.

With GE's and Pentair's technologies and Pentair's extensive distribution channels, the joint venture will provide reliable and affordable water treatment solutions to meet growing needs.

"With the formation of this joint venture, Pentair and GE will be better positioned to serve residential customers with industry-leading technical applications in the areas of water conditioning, whole house filtration, point of use water management and water sustainability,"said Randall. J. Hogan, Pentair chairman and chief executive officer. "Further, this joint venture advances Pentair's current residential filtration strategy for growth. We believe we will accelerate revenue growth by selling GE's existing residential conditioning and treatment products through Pentair's sales channels, by gaining access to some of GE's current and emerging filtration technologies."

Under the terms of the agreement, Pentair has an 80 per cent ownership stake and GE has a 20 per cent stake of the joint venture - Pentair Residential Filtration. In 2007, the combined residential and commercial net sales of the parent companies were approximately $450 million USD.

"We are excited about the growth opportunities this unique partnership brings our business,"said Jeff Garwood, president and CEO, GE Water & Process Technologies. "Partnerships such as this one create an excellent opportunity to develop and introduce new technologies that will meet the needs of both developed and emerging markets. It is also another example of how GE continues to partner with industry leaders to drive growth while meeting the world's most pressing water needs."

Pentair Residential Filtration will serve as the primary sales channel for Pentair's and GE's respective global residential water filtration and water softener businesses. It will also serve as the manufacturing arm for residential and commercial tanks, valves, and some limited filtration products for the parent companies. Pentair and GE will continue to serve existing municipal, commercial and industrial water treatment customers separately, sourcing select products from the joint venture as needed. Pentair Residential Filtration will bring together approximately 1,100 employees from Pentair and GE in 15 facilities in the United States, Europe and China.

Pentair also said it will share additional information regarding the joint venture when it announces its second quarter results on 22 July 2008.