APW Ltd. to Acquire Selected Manufacturing Assets From Lucent Technologies in Poland.

Business Editors

WAUKESHA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2001

APW Ltd. (NYSE: APW), a leading provider of integrated electronic enclosure systems, announced today that it has agreed to acquire the metal, plastics and tooling manufacturing assets of Lucent Technologies' Global Provisioning Center located in Bydgoszcz, Poland. As part of the agreement, APW will supply electronic enclosure cabinets, power distribution frames, and injection molded plastic components to Lucent locations around the world.

Under the terms of the agreement, APW will offer employment to all of the approximately 300 Lucent employees currently employed in the operations and acquire approximately 215,000 square feet of Lucent's manufacturing capacity in Bydgoszcz, representing about half of that campus. The portion of the campus that provides systems integration, final assembly and testing and repair for a variety of advanced networking systems, will be retained by Lucent. This transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, and is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2001. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to further strengthen our close relationship with Lucent and expand our presence in Europe with a facility that will help us cost-effectively provide high-quality products to our customers on a global basis," commented Richard G. Sim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of APW Ltd. "Looking forward, we expect to invest in and leverage the capabilities of the Bydgoszcz operation to support Lucent and other APW customers throughout Europe and the rest of the world."

"This is a great transaction for everyone. APW gets an outstanding group of employees who produce high-quality products in a well-managed facility. Our Bydgoszcz employees will be joining a growing company focused on the manufacture of infrastructure systems and components," said Stan Szuder, President of the Board and Managing Director of Lucent Technologies Poland. "And Lucent strengthens its relationship with a solid supplier who truly understands our needs for the top-quality cabinets and components that our advanced systems require. A key element in our selection of APW as a global supply partner is our confidence in their ability to serve Lucent on a global basis, and with their new team in Bydgoszcz our confidence has only grown."

About APW Ltd.

APW Ltd. is a technically enabled manufacturing services ("TEMS") company that designs and manufactures large, complex infrastructure products for OEM's in the communications, computing and Internet markets. APW Ltd. has particular skills in the areas of manufacturing enclosures, thermal management, power supplies and backplanes; as well as core competencies in product and system design, integration and supply chain management. APW Ltd. operates in over 40 locations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information on APW Ltd., visit its web site at www.apw.com.

About Lucent Technologies

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as broadband and mobile Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its web site at www.lucent.com.

Lucent Technologies Poland Sp z.o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, provides communications solutions to operators and telecom and Internet service providers in Poland. The company has been involved in the Polish market since 1990, with offices in Warsaw, Bydgoszcz, Wroc(3)aw and Gdansk, and employs almost 1,000 people throughout Poland, some 200 of whom are members of Bell Labs, Lucent's research and development arm. Lucent's manufacturing facility in Bydgoszcz performs the systems integration and high-end process manufacturing of 5ESS(R) digital switches and AnyMedia(TM) multiservice access systems. For more information on Lucent Technologies in Poland, visit the company's web site at www.lucent.com.pl.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain of the above comments represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Management cautions that these statements are based on current estimates of future performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of factors, which could cause actual results to differ from these estimates. APW Ltd.'s results are also subject to general economic conditions, market conditions in the computer, semiconductor, telecommunications, and electronic industries in North America, South America, Europe and, to a lesser extent, Asia, continued market acceptance of APW's existing products and new product introductions, the successful integration of recent acquisitions, competitive product and pricing pressures, foreign currency risk, interest rate risk, and APW's ability to access capital markets. See our Form 10 and Form S-3 for further information on risk factors.