VANCOUVER, WA--(Marketwire - June 11, 2008) - Northwest Pipe Company (
"Our energy pipe business has grown substantially over the last few years," said Brian W. Dunham, CEO and president of Northwest Pipe Company. "We see additional opportunities, particularly in this region of the country. This expansion will enable us to participate in the market for pipe used in gas exploration, which will complement our existing position in pipe used for gas gathering and transmission."
While this will be a new facility, the Company already has the necessary equipment located in Portland, Oregon. "We will redeploy a complete and recently modernized production line to address this market. Its capabilities are 2 inches to 7 inches in diameter with wall thicknesses up to .375 inches," said Dunham. "We see this as an excellent opportunity to put idled capacity back into production, and to do so in the heart of the market we expect to serve. We believe the combination of our equipment, location, the people we already have in place in Houston and the distribution system we already have set up for our other products will make us a very efficient and effective producer."
Northwest Pipe Company manufactures welded steel pipe and other products in two business groups. Its Water Transmission Group is the leading supplier of large diameter, high-pressure steel pipe products that are used primarily for water infrastructure in North America. Its Tubular Products Group manufactures smaller diameter steel pipe for a wide range of applications including construction, agricultural, energy, traffic and other commercial and industrial uses. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington and has ten manufacturing facilities across the United States and Mexico.
This release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to those regarding the project described above. These statements reflect management's current views and estimates of market circumstances, industry conditions, Company performance and construction requirements for the new manufacturing facility. Actual results could vary materially from the description contained herein due to many factors including market demand, unforeseen problems or issues encountered in the development of the new facility or in the redeployment of the manufacturing equipment, operating efficiencies, availability and price of raw materials, and other risks described from time to time in the Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact Information: Contact: Brian Dunham 360-397-6250