Press information To download a text file of this release, a 250 pixel wide low-res image for web use or a 300dpi print quality image, go to www.parkfield.co.uk/apw_UK APW celebrates 25 year Ericsson relationship Released 29 August 2003 In 1978, because of the difficulties of providing a very small population in a very large country with telephone services, Scandinavia was already developing an embryonic network of analogue cellular telephones. One of the main companies involved was Ericsson, then not the internationally recognised name it is today. APW also played a part as a key supplier to Ericsson. By 1981, APW was supplying about 100 19” racks to Ericsson Radio, who used them as base station enclosures, processing the then impressive volume of four channels per station! From these humble beginnings, the business has grown tremendously in value, capacity and technology: today, APW makes sales of more than $100m per annum to Ericsson operations globally. APW is now far more than a product supplier: APW design, development, test and manufacturing engineers, located in the USA, Europe and China, work extremely closely with their Ericsson counterparts to bring the next generation products to market as quickly as possible. APW’s expertise in thermal management, enclosure technology, power conversion, complex backplane design and system integration, all supported by outstanding logistics capabilities and global purchasing power, play a significant part in enabling Ericsson to offer their customers leading edge solutions to tomorrow’s problems. To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the relationship, senior APW and Ericsson Management met at one of APW’s newest facilities, a 20,000m2 factory in Plonsk, some 65km north of Warsaw, Poland. This brown field site, previously a vehicle manufacturing operation, was acquired by APW in late 2002. Within five months, it was producing complex high level sub assemblies for Ericsson – a tribute to the skill and expertise of the APW Poland and global team who helped make the start-up such a great success. APW is now the largest hi-tech employer in the region, with some 400 people in regular work in an area where unemployment was previously more than 24%. APW has an excellent track record in its first 25 years history of working with Ericsson, continuously growing and developing the breadth and depth of the relationship. In 1996, APW received a Top Ten Supplier Award from Ericsson in the US and in 1999, an Excellent Performance Award from Ericsson in Europe. The celebrations at the Plonsk plant mark the start of the next quarter century of co-operation between APW and Ericsson. *** Ends: body copy 433 words *** Notes to Editors. For further information: Steve Goddard APW Electron Way Chandlers Ford Hampshire SO53 4ZR tel: + 44 (0)23 8026 6300 fax:+ 44 (0)23 8026 5126 steve.goddard@apw.com www.apw.com Agency contact: Nigel May Parkfield Communications Limited Parkfield House Damerham Hants SP6 3HQ tel: + 44 (0)1725 518321 fax: + 44 (0)1725 518378 Nigel_May@parkfield.co.uk www.parkfield.co.uk APW is a technically enabled manufacturing services ("TEMS") company that designs and manufactures large, complex infrastructure products for OEMs in the communications, computing and Internet markets. APW has particular skills in the areas of manufacturing enclosures, thermal management, power supplies and backplanes; as well as core competencies in product and system design, integration and supply chain management. APW operates in more than 14 locations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.