MALMO, Sweden, Dec. 23, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Benima, part of the Teleca Group (Stockholm:TELCb), has acquired the Norwegian company AC Engineering with four employees and established a new office in Sandefjord. The acquisition is part of a strategic move in the infrastructure area, where AC Engineering has a strong position.
With its 500 engineers Benima is the Nordic region's largest supplier-independent consulting firm in industrial IT and automation. Benima Norway already has a presence in Oslo and Bergen.
The take-over of AC Engineering is a natural result of increased demand for Benima's services in Norway's Vestfold region. Through the acquisition of AC Engineering, Benima aims to win more commissions for major infrastructure projects, where automation represents a steadily expanding share.
"The acquisition gives us new skills, strengthens our position in new markets and offers Benima a presence among customers in the region. We are looking forward to an interesting development for the Sandefjord office," said Romar Ekbraten, President of Benima Norway AS.
"Benima's expertise within industrial IT complements our business in a very positive way and opens a number of new opportunities for our business," said senior engineer Roy H Andersen at AC Engineering.
"A local presence has always been a significant and successful strategy for Benima. With the establishment of the Sandefjord office, we will have 34 offices throughout Scandinavia. This means we can offer our customers local presence and skills tailored to suit the conditions in each region. This is particularly important in Norway, where the structure of business and industry differs highly between the various regions," explained Per Magnusson, President of Benima Sydvast AB and Chairman of the Board of Benima Norway.
Due to the size of the acquisition the effects on Teleca's results are marginal.
For further information, contact:
Per Magnusson, President Benima Sydvast AB telephone: +46-31 706 64 26 mobile tel.: +46 706 76 64 26 Romar Ekbraten, President Benima Norway AS telephone: +47 90 99 75 12
Benima is Scandinavia's most comprehensive consultancy in automation and industrial information technology. The company currently comprises about 500 specialists located at some 30 industrial centres throughout Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Benima is part of the Teleca Group. www.benima.se
Teleca is a European consulting group focused on new technology and R&D. Our business concept is to strengthen our customer's market position and time-to-market. This is achieved by providing professional teams with specialist technical expertise, working in partnership with development-intensive companies world-wide. The group has more than 2,300 employees in 15 countries with a strong presence in the Nordic region, U.K., and France. Teleca is quoted on the Attract40 list of Stockholmsborsen. www.teleca.com.
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