NEW YORK (Feb. 21, 2013) – Atlas Copco (STO:ATCOA)
(STO:ATCOB) CEO Ronnie Leten will mark the company’s 140th anniversary
by ringing the opening bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York’s Times
Square at 9:15 a.m. EST today.
The bell ringing signifies not only the beginning of the day’s trading,
but also the start of a yearlong celebration for the company. Leten will
be accompanied at the event by Maureen Ellis, an employee celebrating
more than 40 years with Atlas Copco in the United States, select
customers, and other company management and stakeholders. Interested
parties may view the NASDAQ opening bell ceremony live at 9:15 a.m. at
www.nasdaq.com .
Through 140 years of innovation and acquisition, Atlas Copco has grown
to serve customers in over 170 countries. Today, in the United States
alone Atlas Copco has 109 locations, 1.7 million sq.-ft. of
manufacturing, production, distribution and office space, employs more
than 4,600 people and works with hundreds of carefully selected
distributors. North America operations generated more than $2.8 billion
(USD) in annual revenue in 2012.
“From our beginning in 1873 as a manufacturer of products for the
railroad industry, we have expanded and adapted to hold world-leading
positions in compressed air and gas equipment, construction and mining
equipment, industrial tools and assembly systems,” said Jim Levitt,
president of Atlas Copco North America. “ The United States is the
Group’s largest single market and North America contributes about
one-fifth of our overall revenue. The best way to celebrate 140 years in
business is to acknowledge the customers that make it possible. We
sincerely thank each and every one of them for their business.”
Atlas Copco business units across the United States will celebrate with
customers throughout the year with local events, special offers, and
rewards. Full details will be available at
www.atlascopco.com/us on March 1, 2013.
As an additional part of the anniversary celebration, today Atlas Copco
North America is donating $60,000 to New York City-based charity: water,
a global non-profit dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water
to people in developing nations. Today’s donation brings Atlas Copco’s
total charity: water giving to $161,000 since 2010, with the company’s
employee-run Water for All organization donating more than $239,000
since the program’s inception. To learn more about Atlas Copco’s
employee-run Water for All charity program, please visit
http://www.water4all.org/us/
Atlas Copco – A Brief History
Atlas Copco was founded in Sweden in 1873 as a manufacturer of railroad
rolling stock. At the turn of the century the company diversified its
offerings into riveting and chipping hammers and drills intended for
metalworking in the manufacturing industry and the air compressors
needed to power them. Shortly thereafter, the company designed and set
into production a rock drill for the mining industry called the Cyklop –
an innovative design that would last long into the 1930s.
The company began U.S. operations in 1950 with the opening of offices in
San Francisco and New York. And, with the fast growth of the automotive
and aviation industries through the middle of the last century, Atlas
Copco developed new tools with increasingly improved performance and
precision.
Ushering in a new era of compressed air efficiency and opportunities,
the company delivered its first screw compressor in 1955. In 1967, Atlas
Copco introduced the world’s first mobile screw compressor that
produced oil-free compressed air and the oil-free, stationary, Z Series.
With these developments, new opportunities were seen for using
pneumatics in the medical care and food industries. And in 1994 Atlas
Copco unveiled the first variable speed drive compressor, a technology
which offers significant energy savings to compressed air users.
Through the years, Atlas Copco also made significant investments and
innovations in mining tool technology – from lightweight handheld drills
to a hydraulic rock drill, the COP 1038, the predecessor of many of
today's rock drills – and in tools for the manufacturing industry.
While much has changed since 1873, one thing has remained constant – the
company’s commitment to developing leading-edge technology. Atlas Copco
is one the Top 100 most sustainable companies in the world, is included
in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and has been recognized by
Forbes ,
Thomson-Reuters and
Newsweek , among others, for its commitment to innovation and sustainability.
Atlas Copco is an industrial group with world-leading positions in compressors,
expanders and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment,
power tools and assembly systems. With innovative products and services,
Atlas Copco delivers solutions for sustainable productivity. The
company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a
global reach spanning more than 170 countries. In 2012, Atlas Copco had
39 800 employees and revenues of BSEK 90.5 (approximately BUSD 14.2).
Learn more at
www.atlascopco.com .
Atlas Copco North America operates 109 locations and employs more than 4,600 people in the United
States. The business unit earned $2.8B in revenue in 2012 or
approximately one-fifth of the company’s overall revenue. Learn more at
www.atlascopco.us .
