For immediate release media Contacts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Vicky Shokatz

vshokatz@buzzmonkeyspr.com

(414) 839-4157

Kelly Blickle

blicklek@putzam.com

(262) 884-6387

(262) 770-1059
Wisconsin Company PART OF WORLDWIDE EFFORT TO HELP cool JAPAn’s nuclear Reactors

Sturtevant-based Putzmeister America, Inc. helping coordinate effort to send more concrete boom pumps to Japan; pumps being prepped to depart from Los Angeles and Atlanta this Saturday
Sturtevant, Wis. – April 7, 2011 – As the unfathomable tragedy in Japan evolves into a massive effort to contain the damaged nuclear reactors at the country’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, a Wisconsin company is part of a global effort to help. Putzmeister America, Inc., based in Sturtevant, is a division of one of the world’s most well-recognized and respected heavy equipment manufacturers, Putzmeister Concrete Pumps GmbH (PCP). Putzmeister affiliates are working together to send four additional boom pumps to join the one already working to cool Fukushima’s reactor No. 4. Two of these pumps, the world’s largest concrete boom pumps, are coming from Putzmeister America. Two additional pumps are being sent from PCP.
The two pumps coming from the U.S. are tentatively scheduled to depart on Saturday, April 9. The first is being prepped for the flight at Putzmeister’s West Coast Customer Support Center in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., and will depart from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX); the other was prepped in North Charleston, S.C. and is currently en route to Atlanta, where it will depart from Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Each pump weighs approximately 190,000 pounds and has a boom reach of over 227 feet. They’ll travel on Russian Antonov AN-124 cargo jets, among the world's largest aircraft.
“Like many people all over the world, our thoughts have been with the people of Japan as they deal with this unprecedented crisis,” said Dave Adams, president and CEO of Putzmeister America. “Fortunately, we have a piece of equipment that is working to help cool Japan’s nuclear reactors, so we’re moving full speed ahead to get the additional pumps to Japan to help sustain the effort.”
Adams will be part of a group from Putzmeister America and PCP that will accompany the pumps to Japan. Two technicians will accompany each pump from the U.S., and will help train power plant operators to ensure they are comfortable operating the boom pumps and that the equipment performs as needed. Training will be done at a Putzmeister facility just outside of Tokyo.


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The concrete boom pumps – normally used to pour concrete for bridges and high-rise construction projects –

are well-suited for the task because of the pin point accuracy of the machine’s reach. It’s able to feed water over the destroyed buildings to the exact place of the hotspots within the reactors. In addition, because the pump is operated via radio remote control, the operator is able to remain in a safe location approximately 1.2 miles away while maneuvering the boom pump.

Two Putzmeister customers – Mike Parigini of Associated Concrete Pumping in Sacramento, Calif., and Jerry Ashmore of Ashmore Concrete Contractors, Inc. in Evans, Ga. – recognized their 70Z-Meter concrete pumps have the capabilities needed for the cooling operations and without hesitation offered the pumps to be available. The 70Z-Meter pumps are the largest boom pumps in use worldwide.
Putzmeister has previous experience working on nuclear power plants in crisis and other disaster situations. After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, Putzmeister sent 11 boom pumps to help place the concrete that entombed reactor block 4 to prevent additional radiation from being emitted. Also, for more than 25 years, Putzmeister concrete pumps have been used in fire-fighting operations with a spray nozzle retrofit.
###

Background

The initial idea to use concrete boom pumps to cool the reactor came from Hiroshi Suzuki, the head of the Putzmeister subsidiary in Japan. He contacted Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, as well as Japan’s prime minister, to set the wheels in motion.

On March 15, Suzuki submitted vital information to the prime minister’s office about the concrete boom pump’s capabilities and how they could help cool down the reactors. Two days later, Japan’s prime minister gave an emergency order to bring ashore a 58-Meter (190-foot) Putzmeister boom pump that had been en route to a customer in Vietnam.
The pump arrived on March 21. The next day, after receiving training from Suzuki on how to safely operate the equipment, 12 workers pumped 150 tons of seawater through the pump’s 190-foot long boom into the reactor’s spent-fuel pool in three hours, aiding in the cooling effort. Upon seeing successful results, the Japanese operator requested the four additional pumps from Putzmeister.
Since the effort with the boom pumps began, two additional Putzmeister boom pumps have been utilized at the site. One of them has remained in Tokyo for training of additional operators, while the other has been at Fukushima as a back-up, which has not yet been needed.

About Putzmeister America, Inc.

Putzmeister America, Inc. – a division of one of the world’s most well-recognized and respected heavy equipment manufacturers, Putzmeister Concrete Pumps GmbH – builds truck-mounted concrete pumps designed for a wide range of applications, including the construction of bridges or high-rise buildings. Based out of Sturtevant, Wis., Putzmeister America manufactures a complete line of truck-mounted concrete boom pumps, separate placing booms, truck-mounted telescopic belt conveyors, and trailer-mounted concrete pumps as well as mortar, grout, shotcrete, plaster and fireproofing pumps and mixers, industrial pumps, tunneling machinery and pipeline systems. Putzmeister offers booms with vertical reaches of between 20-70 meters, and, with the 70Z-meter, offers the longest boom that is in use in the world. Some of the industry’s best known brands such as Allentown Shotcrete Technology, Esser Pipe Technology, Thom-Katt^®, Powercreter^® and Telebelt^® are part of the Putzmeister America family. The company’s workforce is dedicated to hands-on customer support and advancing the industry in design and technical innovation.

PUTZMEISTER AMERICA, INC. ______________________________________________________________________

Corporate Headquarters	1733 90th Street	Sturtevant, WI 53177	Telephone (262) 886-3200	Fax (262) 884-6338
Allentown Shotcrete Technology, Inc.	1733 90th Street	Sturtevant, WI 53177	Telephone (800) 553-3414	Fax (610) 391-1934
Esser Pipe Technology	1733 90th Street	Sturtevant, WI 53177	Telephone (866) 734-0296	Fax (866) 644-1527
Midwest Repair & Service Center	1733 90th Street	Sturtevant, WI 53177	Telephone (800) 890-0269	Fax (262) 884-6205
Pro-Tech Equipment Center	1733 90th Street	Sturtevant, WI 53177	Telephone (866) 884-8801	Fax (262) 884-6205
West Coast Customer Support Center	13000 Arctic Circle	Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670	Telephone (800) 581-3245	Fax (562) 229-1713
http://www.putzmeisteramerica.com

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