Eaton Sells Vickers Electronic Systems Business Unit to Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc.

Business Editors

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 1999

Eaton Corporation (NYSE:ETN) today said it has sold the machine tool controls business of its Vickers Electronic Systems Division (VES) to Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

VES was acquired as a part of Eaton's purchase of Aeroquip-Vickers, Inc. in April, 1999. Eaton indicated shortly after the purchase that it would sell the division because it did not fit the company's longer-term strategic objectives.

The VES business purchased by Siemens develops and manufactures computer numeric controls, primarily for the machine tool and plastic processing equipment markets, and had 1998 sales of $109 million. The business also develops software and manufacturing-related control hardware, provides retrofit rebuild, repair and contract manufacturing services, and operates an extensive service parts business.

Facilities involved in the sale are the 450-employee VES headquarters and manufacturing plant in South Lebanon, Ohio, a retrofitting and remanufacturing facility in Lebanon, Ohio that employs 18, and a manufacturing facility in Bedford, England that employs 80.

A fourth facility, in Casella, Italy, which develops and manufactures specialty motors and drives, will be sold separately by Eaton. This 162-employee business will continue to supply both European and U. S. customers as it has in the past.

Eaton is a global manufacturer of highly engineered products that serve industrial, vehicle, construction, commercial, aerospace and semiconductor markets. Principal products include hydraulic products and fluid connectors, electrical power distribution and control equipment, truck drivetrain systems, engine components, ion implanters and a wide variety of controls. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has 64,000 employees and 205 manufacturing sites in 25 countries. Eaton's sales for 1998 were $6.6 billion. Aeroquip-Vickers, Inc. had sales of $2.1 billion in 1998. The Internet address for Eaton is: http://www.eaton.com/

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Siemens Energy & Automation (SE&A) manufactures and markets the world's broadest range of electrical and electronic products, systems and services to industrial and construction market customers. Its technologies range from circuit protection and energy management systems to process control, industrial software and totally integrated automation solutions. The company also has expertise in electronic placement equipment, systems integration, technical services and turnkey industrial systems.