EnerSys Awarded Major Defense Contracts

READING, Pennsylvania, January 5 /PRNewswire/ -- EnerSys (NYSE: ENS), the world's largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial batteries, has recently been awarded contracts in Europe to supply batteries valued at over US$20 million. The awards include submarine propulsion batteries for South American navies and the company's high-performance Armasafe Plus(TM) battery, which will be used in fighting vehicles with the armed services of Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

"These latest contracts confirm our strong position in the defense sector," said Myles Jones, EnerSys' director of defence and aerospace in Europe. "In addition to supporting naval and land-based forces around the world, we also supply batteries for a wide range civil and military aircraft."

John Craig, chairman, president & CEO of EnerSys, explained, "EnerSys companies have been supplying submarine batteries for more than 100 years. They are used for propulsion in diesel electric vessels and for reserve power in nuclear submarines. The South American contracts, won against strong international competition, have been placed by navies who have been using EnerSys batteries in their fleets for more than 30 years."

"The Dutch Ministry of Defence had previously specified conventional flooded lead-acid batteries for its combat vehicles. However, following extensive field trials over several years, the specification was changed to include sealed recombination technology batteries," noted Ray Kubis, president of EnerSys Europe. "In subsequent testing, only the EnerSys Armasafe Plus fulfilled all requirements of the revised specification. The German Army contract placed by Bundesamt fur Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (BWB) is also a first for EnerSys and follows approval for Armasafe(TM), which was granted in 2004."

The UK Ministry of Defence contract for EnerSys Armasafe Plus is an extension to an existing contract against which the company has been supplying up to 15,000 batteries a year for the past six years.

Armasafe Plus is designed to meet the VG96924 specification and is UN 2800 Class 8 exempt. The battery is fully air transportable so it does not have to be removed from a vehicle during airborne deployment - a particularly important consideration for rapid response units.

For more information, contact Richard Zuidema, executive vice president, EnerSys, P.O. Box 14145, Reading, PA 19612-4145, USA. Tel: +1-800-538-3627.

EDITOR'S NOTE: EnerSys, the world leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications, manufactures and distributes reserve power and motive power batteries, chargers, power equipment, and battery accessories to customers worldwide. Motive power batteries are utilized in electric forklift trucks and other commercial electric-powered vehicles. Reserve power batteries are used in the telecommunication and utility industries, uninterruptible power suppliers, and numerous applications requiring standby power including aerospace and defense. The company also provides aftermarket and customer support services to its customers from over 100 countries through its sales and manufacturing locations around the world.

More information regarding EnerSys can be found at http://www.enersys.com.

Web site: http://www.enersys.com