Announcement
GENERAL: WDT: Wellington Motors for Panasonic Refrigerator Compressors
09:46am
WDT
25/09/2007
GENERAL
REL: 0945 HRS Wellington Drive Technologies Limited
GENERAL: WDT: Wellington Motors for Panasonic Refrigerator Compressors
Wellington Drive Technologies Ltd. (Wellington) is pleased to announce that
it has executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Panasonic
Refrigeration Devices Singapore (PRDS). The MOU covers the development by
Wellington, under paid contract to Panasonic, of its "Monsoon" high
efficiency motor, electronics and software technology for use in Panasonic
compressors used in home appliances such as refrigerators.
Panasonic is the second largest manufacturer by volume of refrigeration
compressors in the world, producing approximately 18 million compressors each
year in four plants. The largest of these plants is PRDS, which produces 11
million units covering the full range of sizes used for home appliances.
Panasonic's four plants are in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and China. PRDS was
established in 1972.
The first stage of this programme was announced to the market on 15th
February 2007. The technical work has progressed according to plan since
then, and tests of proof-of-concept Wellington motors in Panasonic
compressors have been successfully completed.
Electric motor-driven compressors are found in all home refrigerators and
freezers, and in many other refrigeration products. In excess of one hundred
million small electric motors are believed to be used in refrigeration
compressors each year, making it, in aggregate, one of the largest markets
for motors world wide.
Because of the widespread use of refrigerators and freezers, these
compressors are large consumers of electricity, and the electricity and
energy savings potential from use of Wellington motors there is significant.
Using Wellington's Monsoon system in domestic refrigerators will, for
example, reduce the annual bill for refrigerator electricity by approximately
40%. This is the same reason behind the use of our motors for supermarket and
vending refrigeration, and for clean room fan-filter motors, all of which
have also been announced recently.
In addition to electricity savings, and low production costs in comparison to
other electricity-saving motor methods, Monsoon designs offer certain other
advantages in refrigeration compressors, including reduced weight compared to
the low efficiency motors being replaced. A full description of these
advantages is subject to commercial confidentiality.
This current contract, which is scheduled for completion during the second
quarter of 2008, will deliver Wellington Monsoon equipment to
production-ready standards for full testing and evaluation by Panasonic. If
the evaluation is successful, as is expected based on the results so far,
commercial arrangements for the introduction of the new system to production
will be negotiated.
First commercial production of compressor units using the new Monsoon
technology is expected to occur late in (calendar) 2008, subject to
completion of the necessary testing, field trials and regulatory and PRDS
customer approvals.
Although subject to commercial confidentiality, the current development
contract delivers a good level of engineering income for Wellington. In
addition, the commercial returns to Wellington from use of its proprietary
technology in a market of this scale are expected to be substantial. The
Board and management believe this contract is amongst the most significant in
terms of overall commercial potential obtained by the Company to date.
Wellington welcomes the opportunity to continue to work closely with a world
leading organization of the stature of Panasonic.
For further information visit www.wdtl.com.
End CA:00154246 For:WDT Type:GENERAL Time:2007-09-25:09:46:02
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