ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Aug. 25, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MYR Group Inc. ("MYR") (Nasdaq:MYRG), a leading specialty contractor serving the electrical infrastructure market in the United States, announced today it is realigning its management team in preparation for the expected build-out of large transmission projects and growing renewable energy market.
MYR's President and Chief Executive Officer, Bill Koertner, said, "We believe that the long-term growth prospects for spending on transmission and distribution, or T&D, networks are very favorable based on several factors including the nation's aged infrastructure, limited new construction in recent years on infrastructure, growing renewable generation sources and government stimulus programs. In fact, a number of large transmission projects are moving forward with permitting, which should begin benefitting larger T&D contractors like MYR in 2010. With some of the very best employees in the industry, we are well positioned to bid and execute these larger projects. The management changes we are announcing today are intended to improve MYR's focus on marketing its capabilities to utilities and other developers in order to execute the large, fast-track transmission projects expected over the next five to seven years."
Koertner continued, "At the same time, we do not want to lose sight of our distribution and substation work, or the smaller transmission projects that have been our mainstay T&D business since the early 1980s, when the last transmission build-out was substantially completed. We continue to believe these smaller T&D projects and customer alliance agreements are best managed through our network of district offices across the country."
Koertner concluded, "These are exciting times for our industry. We see the potential for significant growth in transmission work across the country, as the utility industry addresses reliability concerns and brings renewable generation onto the transmission grid. We believe the realignment of personnel we are announcing today will further demonstrate to our customers that we have the capabilities to successfully execute major work."
As part of the reorganization, Gary Engen and Rick Swartz, previously vice president, chief legal officer, and secretary, and group vice president, respectively, have been promoted to senior vice presidents reporting to Bill Koertner, president and CEO. In addition to his role as senior vice president, Engen will continue in his roles as chief legal officer and corporate secretary. In his expanded role as senior vice president, Swartz will oversee all of MYR's transmission and distribution work in the Western United States, as well as MYR's commercial and industrial electrical operations.
Vice President Terry Roberts has been promoted to group vice president and will be responsible for large transmission projects in the West. Vice President Robert McDaniel will now be responsible for all distribution work in the West. Roberts, McDaniel and Robert Agnew, president of MYR's subsidiary, Great Southwestern Construction, Inc., will all report to Swartz.
Additionally, Group Vice President John Fluss will assume responsibilities for large T&D project development and execution in the Eastern United States. Vice President Mike Cooper will report to Fluss.
Dave Reinemann, previously chief estimator, has been promoted to vice president for transmission projects related to wind and solar generation.
Vice President Tod Cooper has been promoted to group vice president and will oversee MYR's core transmission and distribution work in the East. Vice Presidents Bill Ehlert and Jim Bowen will report to Tod Cooper. Fluss, Reinemann, and Tod Cooper will all report to Bill Green, senior vice president and chief operating officer. Green will continue to report to Koertner.
About MYR Group
MYR is a holding company of specialty construction service providers. Through subsidiaries dating back to 1891, MYR is one of the largest national contractors serving the transmission and distribution sector of the United States electric utility industry. Transmission and Distribution customers include electric utilities, cooperatives and municipalities. MYR also provides Commercial and Industrial electrical contracting services to facility owners and general contractors in the Western United States. MYR's comprehensive services include turnkey construction and maintenance services for the nation's electrical infrastructure.
Forward-Looking Statements
Various statements in this announcement, including those that express a belief, expectation, or intention, as well as those that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include our expectations with respect to: future transmission build-out, the long-term growth prospects for spending on transmission and distribution networks, the timing and impact of expected large transmission projects, our ability to bid on and execute the anticipated larger projects, the impact of these management changes, the potential for growth in transmission projects, and the potential impact of expected federal spending programs. While our management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the extent and effectiveness of spending programs of federal and state governments, the impact of federally funded mandates on our industry, the pace and effectiveness of transmission build-outs in the United States, the liquidity of our customers, our customers' reactions to the management changes, our ability to attract and retain key personnel, the actions of our competitors, and the spending patterns of our customers.
These and other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in other current or periodic reports which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this announcement. Our forward-looking statements are generally accompanied by words such as "estimate," "project," "predict," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "potential," "plan," "goal," or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. The forward-looking statements in this announcement speak only as of the date of this announcement; we disclaim any obligation to update or revise these statements (unless required by securities laws), and we caution you not to rely on them unduly. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions about future events.