NEWS RELEASE - Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Press Release ………………………. for immediate release

Sweetwater, Texas, USA: At the regular scheduled meeting of the Sweetwater Enterprise for Economic Development (SEED) on May 18, 2009, the Board of Directors approved an incentive contract for a company, EMA Electromecanica, to locate a manufacturing facility in Sweetwater. EMA Electromecanica S.A. is located in Argentina and they design and manufacture electromechanical equipment for the power distribution industry. The Sweetwater City Commission, at its regular scheduled meeting on June 2, 2009 ratified the contract approved by SEED.
The contract calls for a loan of $800,000.00 from our three local Sweetwater banks (guaranteed by SEED), a cash injection from the Argentina based ownership of EMA, and for SEED to build and lease to EMA a 15,000 square foot manufacturing facility with a 1,000 square foot office. The manufacturing facility and office will be built in the Industrial Park owned by SEED near I-20. In Phase I, EMA plans to hire up to 13 full time employees.
As stated by Mr. John W. Jay, Board President of SEED and CEO of The Roscoe State Bank, "Over the past five months I have had the privilege of spending a significant amount of time with Eduardo, his key executives and his family both from his numerous trips here as well as the trip Ken and I made to Buenos Aires to tour his plant facilities. I am most impressed with him and everyone I have come in contact with and the business success EMA Electromechanica has enjoyed over the years. EMA has a proven successful track record in the U. S. wind industry with their circuit breaker/grounding switch product, having achieved a significant market share of the new wind construction in the past three years. Having this product assembled here in Sweetwater, closer to the end users, should continue to enhance their market penetration at competitive costs while creating new, well paying jobs for our community."
EMA Electromecanica S.A. is one of the most important companies in Argentina and is also one of the major companies in Latin America. They design and manufacture electromechanical equipment for power distribution (as listed below).

-Medium voltage circuit breakers
-High-speed grounding switches
-Arc-resistant medium voltage switchgear
-Medium voltage isolated and non isolated phase bus ducts
-High voltage isolated switches

EMA has provided leadership in the Argentine market for more than 50 years, accompanying the development of the national market with EMA’s product lines providing equipment for the most important projects of electrical generation, transmission and distribution. EMA has demonstrated a strong presence in the USA and Latin American export markets for more than 20 years.
EMA’s main plant is located in the Province of Buenos Aires, Republica Argentina. It's a 204,514 square feet plant which currently includes 118,400 square feet of covered manufacturing facilities. The number of employees in Argentina has grown to 200. EMA started operations in 1952, assembling electric switchboards at a small plant. The industrialization process began in Argentina and the resulting increased demand of electromechanical equipment made by EMA resulted in the need for EMA to expand its facilities. After moving twice it finally settled in 1964 in the current location.
Since 2003 EMA has actively participated in the U.S. Wind Energy Market. New and innovative designs have been introduced for switching and protection of wind turbine systems. Over thirty (30) large wind projects located in Texas, California, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Oregon, Kansas, New York, Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois and West Virginia are now utilizing EMA Circuit Breakers and High Speed Grounding Switches for their collection circuits.
In order to provide improved support for the U.S. Market, EMA is proud to announce that it has established EMA Electromechanics, LLC in Sweetwater, Texas. The Sweetwater location will be a manufacturing, parts and service facility for EMA’s Medium Voltage Circuit Breakers VDH model and High Speed Grounding Switches VDH/GSMI model, which is scheduled for start-up at Sweetwater in mid 2010.
As stated by Mr. Eduardo Montich, President/CEO of EMA, “The Sweetwater manufacturing site is a natural fit in the U.S. Wind Energy Market. Sweetwater/Nolan County is home to more than 1,900 MW of wind production and in the middle of 5 counties in West Texas that produce 40% of the wind power in Texas and approximately 12.5% of the wind power in the USA. The recent decision to expand the transmission lines to carry over 18,000 MW of wind power to North Texas and the Houston area, will allow for further expansion of wind development in this region.”
“The relationship between EMA and SEED began at an American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) Conference in November of 2007 in Southern California. The culmination of this relationship is the ground breaking we are doing today. This is a big step for Sweetwater
and the region as it further adds to the diversification of the wind industry in West Texas” stated Ken Becker, Executive Director of SEED.
Additional information on EMA can be found at www.ema-sa.com.ar or about SEED at www.sweetwatertexas.net SEED staff can be reached at 325-235-0555 or toll free at 1- 877-301-SEED.

Ken Becker, Executive Director
SEED
325-235-0555
ken@sweetwatertexas.net