Tanfield Regulatory News (TAN)

18 Dec 2007 07:01

Tanfield Group PLC18 December 2007 18 December 2007 THE TANFIELD GROUP PLC ("TANFIELD" OR THE "GROUP") Pre-Close Trading Update The Tanfield Group Plc, the leading manufacturer of zero emission electricvehicles and aerial work platforms, will shortly be entering its close periodfor the financial year ending 31 December 2007. Smith Electric Vehicles The Board of Directors is delighted to announce today an order for 100 vehicles.The vehicles, a mixture of the Newton truck and Edison van models, are destinedfor fleet operators across the public and private sectors in Ireland andNorthern Ireland. This is the largest new customer order to date and was not preceded by thepurchase of trial vehicles. The Board believes that this initial fleet order,secured without the need for an assessment period, demonstrates the growingmarket acceptance of Tanfield's zero emission technology. The Company has increased production capacity in line with management's targetof producing up to 30 vehicles a week by early 2008. Order intake also remainsstrong for the purchase of single seed vehicles or small fleets for assessment.Fleet operators who have recently ordered seed vehicles include: •Amey Construction •Carlsberg •Cadogen Tate •Alstec •A-Plant The Board believes that this spread of clients demonstrates the widening appealof Smith Electric Vehicles. Non-disclosure agreements remain in place with othernew customers. In December, Tanfield launched a 12,000kg version of the Smith Newton truck inthe USA, at EVS23 (the Electric Vehicle Symposium) in Anaheim, California. Thevehicle was well-received and Tanfield is in discussions to supply Newton to asignificant number of major fleet operators in North America. This 12,000kg model is the largest electric vehicle Tanfield has produced todate, and is designed specifically for the US market. It will be powered by alithium-ion phosphate battery pack and has a range of up to 150 miles. TheCompany is on track to commence manufacture of the USA Newton for the NorthAmerica market early next year. Powered Access The second half has seen production and sales progress in line with managementexpectations. End user demand remains strong across all territories and productareas. The integration of Snorkel remains on track and cross-selling with UpRight inthe second half of 2007 has provided further validation of the Snorkelacquisition. Tanfield has achieved continued strong sales in the USA andcommenced manufacture of key UpRight products in Snorkel USA facilities for theAmericas and other strategic markets, including small to medium sized electricpersonnel lifts and boom lifts. For UpRight, the Company also commenced manufacture of key Snorkel products atits Vigo Centre headquarters in the UK, including larger, rough terrain scissorlifts. Tanfield has further strengthened its global distributor network and there is astrong appetite for both the enhanced UpRight and Snorkel product lines. Outlook The outlook for both key divisions remains very healthy, and trading through thesecond half has been in line with management expectations. Consequently, theBoard looks to the future with increased confidence and remains well-placed toreport further progress for the Group in 2008. www.tanfieldgroup.co.uk For further information: The Tanfield Group Plc Tel: +44(0)845 1557 755Darren Kell, Chief ExecutiveCharles Brooks, Finance Director Fishburn Hedges Tel: +44(0)20 7839 4321Morgan Bone/James Benjamin Mob: +44(0) 7767 622 967/+44(0) 7747 113 930 tanfield@fishburn-hedges.co.uk Cenkos Securities plc Tel: +44(0)20 7397 8900Stephen Keys St. Helen's Capital plc Tel: +44(0)20 7628 5582Seb WykehamRuari McGirr Notes to editors The Tanfield Group Plc is the world's leading developer and manufacturer ofroad-going commercial electric vehicles and aerial work platforms. Tanfield isheadquartered in Newcastle with operations in both the North America and EMEAregions. It has two main divisions: Smith Electric Vehicles, was founded in 1920 and acquired by Tanfield in October2004. Following its acquisition, Smith is developing into a world leader in newtechnology electric vans and trucks with greatly enhanced performance, speed andrange capabilities. This makes them attractive for all fleet operators in largetowns, cities and closed industrial environment. For the first time, these fleetoperators have economically viable, zero emission alternatives to using dieselvans and trucks. Smith has an unrivalled UK-wide service and support network,which already maintains over 5,000 vehicles for major fleet operators. This coreelement of the business is beginning to fulfil its potential in terms ofaddressing the requirements of large urban fleet operators, who want to reducetheir operational costs and more importantly, greatly reduce their carbonfootprint. Smith's airport offering is complemented by two specialist airportvehicle sub-divisions; Jumbotugs and Norquip. www.smithelectricvehicles.com Powered Access, contains two of the world's most established aerial workplatform brands, UpRight Powered Access and Snorkel International. UpRight isfirmly established as the UK's biggest manufacturer of self-propelled aerialwork platforms (also known as "cherry-pickers", "mobile elevating workplatforms", "aerial lifts", etc). UpRight has assembly facilities in the UK andUSA, with products sold through a strong network of over 180 independent,full-service distributors across Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacificregions. Snorkel, acquired in July 2007, has significant manufacturingcapabilities along with strong sales and distribution, in the USA andAustralasia. Tanfield has been successful in extending its powered accessproduct range and is now one of only three "full line" aerial lift manufacturersto have a significant assembly footprint in both the North America and EMEAregions, in what is a $7bn global market. www.upright.com / www.snorkelusa.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange