Regional Market Expected to Exceed AED5.5bn in Five Years

Dubai: 15 September, 2007 - Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (EMPOWER), Dubai's leading district cooling company and LOGSTOR, the world's largest manufacturer of pre-insulated pipes, and the today announced a joint venture, Empower LOGSTOR, to set up the UAE's largest pre-insulated pipe factory.

Empower will hold 51 per cent with LOGSTOR taking the remaining 49 per cent stake in the venture, that will become operational next year.

Empower LOGSTOR will help service the critical demand for high quality pre-insulated pipes, especially for district cooling, which is increasingly being seen as the most energy efficient, safe, proven and environment-friendly solution to cool buildings.

Saeed Al Tayer Empower Chairman, said: "This joint venture, with a capital investment of US$25 million, is a new opportunity for Empower to achieve backward integration. It will also consolidate our status as a leading regional player in pipeline systems.

"The new venture will meet the industry's primary requirement for pre-insulated pipes. Our partnership with a major global brand will help us expand Empower's reach beyond the region."

The size of the regional pre-insulated pipe market is expected to exceed US$1.5 billion over the next five years. Total installed district cooling capacity in the Gulf region is expected to reach 9.6 million refrigeration tonnes (RT) by 2010, against 745,000 RT in 2005, according to a recent industry study. The UAE alone is expected to account for more than four million tonnes RT by 2012.

Ahmad Shafar, CEO of Empower and Chairman of the joint venture, said: "The new company has been formed following an ongoing strategic review by Empower to ensure the supply of world class quality district cooling plants and pipe networks. It will meet the demand for hundreds of kilometers of pre-insulated pipes needed for the region's future district cooling needs.

"Within a short period, we have been able to secure our status as Dubai's leading district cooling company. We are now taking our first step towards ensuring that we become the region's number one company for district cooling."

Ole Andersen Chairman of LOGSTOR, said: "We are looking forward to combining the visions of our two companies and contributing to the increased use of district cooling. This joint venture holds a huge potential for the environment in terms of helping to lower CO2 emissions."

Preben Tolstrup, CEO of LOGSTOR, said: "District cooling is over 50 per cent more efficient than conventional air conditioning solutions. It also removes the heavy load on the electricity grid when demand for cooling shoots up.

"District cooling offers the potential of being combined with electricity generation by transforming surplus heat into efficient and low-cost cooling. In other words, district cooling is the most eco-friendly technology in meeting the world CO2 reduction targets. We believe the global growth in district cooling systems will be huge in the years to come, and this venture is a first significant step in realising that."

EMPOWER handles projects for several prominent clusters including the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), Dubai Healthcare City, City of Arabia and Business Bay. It also provides 60,000 refrigeration tonnes (RT) to Jumeirah Beach Residence, the impressive 22 million square feet development spanning 1.7km, featuring 36 residential towers, four hotel towers and beach clubs.

-Ends-

EMPOWER
Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) is a joint venture between Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone (TECOM) Investments and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), created to provide energy-efficient district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments.  Empower plans to diversify into other energy efficiency and conservation services. Empower's district cooling systems (DCS) provide effective and efficient means of air conditioning.  Water is cooled in central plants and distributed through a network of piping systems to individual customer buildings. DCS achieves economies of scale by using centralised plants instead of individual cooling units in each building. The centralised system results in reduced capital and operating costs, thus reducing air-conditioning set-up and energy costs per building. Empower is set to become one of the largest district cooling companies in the region.

For more information: www.empower.ae

LOGSTOR
LOGSTOR, owned by Montagu Private Equity, is the world's leading manufacturer of complete pre-insulated pipe systems for transportation of gases and liquids to the district heating and cooling, oil and gas, marine and industrial sectors.

LOGSTOR is an international group with subsidiaries in 11 European countries' and through Joint Ventures in China and Korea. A network of 30 distributors and agents, support the sales activities together with LOGSTOR's own sales offices. LOGSTOR supply the market in approximately 50 countries, and sells its products in markets where rising energy prices are increasing the importance of efficient, energy-saving products and transport solutions.

LOGSTOR is headquartered in Løgstør, Denmark. It has some 1,400 employees.  Production of the Group's products takes place at its own nine factories in Denmark, Poland, Sweden, and Finland and in two joint ventures in China and Korea. The turnover outside Denmark amounts to more than 90%. LOGSTOR resulted from the merger of Alstom Power FlowSystem and LOGSTOR Ror in August 2005. For more information: www.LOGSTOR.com

Montagu Private Equity
Montagu is a leading private equity investor in the European mid-market with offices in London, Manchester, Paris, Düsseldorf and Stockholm. Over the last 35 years the firm has supported more than 400 businesses operating across a range of different segments and sectors, and currently has more than €4 billion under management. Montagu is focused on investing in management buyouts in partnership with the incumbent management team. The firm has a strong track record of delivering superior returns over time, an extensive network of contacts and offers its portfolio companies capital, financial expertise and strategic assistance in order to unleash their full development and growth potential.

Visit www.montagu.com for more information.

For more information:
Rami Adwan
PR associate Account Manager
Tel: +971-4-361 3586
Email: rami.adwan@jiwin.ae

Angelina Wong
Senior Account Executive
Email: Angelina.wong@jiwin.ae

Kurt Weis
HR and PR Director, LOGSTOR Group
Email: kuw@LOGSTOR.com

© Press Release 2007