Actaris and Senea Set Up Strategic Partnership to Develop Automatic Meter Reading Systems for Electricity Utilities


AKERSBERGA, Sweden, Dec. 19, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Actaris, a worldwide leader in electricity, gas, water and heat metering, and Senea AB (Stockholm:SENE), a Swedish specialist in radio and PLC technology, today announced the creation of a partnership to address the utilities' needs in the Scandinavian electricity deregulated market.

Through this agreement, Actaris and Senea will combine their expertise to provide innovative applications for the automatic reading of electricity meters (AMR). As part of the arrangement, the Sales and Project Management team managed by Actaris will jointly create with Senea a unique offering and propose a one stop shop supporting Utilities' AMR projects.

"Our leadership in developing technologies such as RF and PLC applications complements the expertise of Actaris in metering," said Annette Brodin Rampe, CEO Senea AB. "This is a good opportunity for Scandinavian customers to benefit from this strong alliance and rely on recognised experts in the field of metering systems."

"Thanks to the PLC systems already deployed in Europe and the size of Actaris sales network, we will help our Scandinavian customers in partnership with Senea AB, the AMR reference in Sweden, to address this promising market which is part of our strategy of development," commented Gerard Gallez, Actaris Managing Director Electricity business line.

About Actaris

Actaris is a world-class supplier of meters, systems and services for the electricity, gas, water and heat markets. It was created in 2001 to carry out the LMBO of Resource Management Services, the metering division of Schlumberger, backed by LBO France. Its mission consists of delivering innovative products integrating the best-in class technologies to energy and water distribution companies so as to enable them better manage resources and strengthen their relationships with the end-users. The group is active in more than 30 countries with a strong presence in Europe, Asia and South America. With 7,000 employees, Actaris' turnover for the year 2001 reached 750 million euros.

About Senea AB

Senea AB is market leader in Norden for AMR-systems. Senea has so far delivered around 130,000 communication terminals. The customers are network companies, energy companies and real estate companies that want to develop their business with modern technique. Senea had a turnover in 2001 of 21 MSEK. Senea is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange market since 1994. Senea is based in Akersberga, Sweden.

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