Atlas Copco acquires Dutch specialty rental company

Atlas Copco and ABIRD have had a cooperation agreement for many years. ABIRD has 25 employees. The acquisition, effective July 1, 1999, is in line with the Atlas Copco Group’s strategy of developing and strengthening its specialty rental business in Europe. ABIRD, which operates from one location in the Botlek area of Rotterdam, specializes in serving the industrial sector, such as refineries and chemical and petrochemical plants, offering solutions for their temporary needs for compressors and generators. The company will continue to operate under its well-established brand name.

• Oscar Duprix, President, Atlas Copco Portable Air Division, +32 3 450 6100, e-mail: [email protected]
• Annika Berglund, Vice President Corporate Communications, Atlas Copco AB, +46 8 743 8070, mobile: +46 70 322 8070, e-mail: [email protected]

Atlas Copco Portable Air, part of the Compressor Technique business area, is a leading manufacturer of portable compressors and generators. The Portable Air division has its main customer base in the construction and rental equipment industries. Additional information is available at the web site: www.atlascopco-compressors.com Atlas Copco is an international group of industrial companies with its head office in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1998, the Group had revenues of SEK 33,7 billion, with 97 percent of revenues outside Sweden, and more than 23,000 employees. Atlas Copco companies develop, manufacture, and market electric and pneumatic tools, compressed air equipment, construction and mining equipment, assembly systems, and motion control products and offers related service and equipment rental. Additional information about Atlas Copco is available at the Group’s web site, www.atlascopco.com, which provides access to current news about the Company.