Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation (MCO), Japan Begins Operation of Global Marketing & Service Company in the U.S.

As a sales and marketing company, MCO-I, which has its head office in Houston, Texas, will also contribute to MCO's engineering and after-sale servicing of compressors and related equipment throughout North America and Mexico. Gampa I. Bhat, who was formerly a chief engineer at ExxonMobil Chemical Company and is currently managing a technology consultancy firm, will be appointed to serve as MCO-I's president.

The U.S. has an enormous market for large-size industrial-use compressors, accounting for a near 20% share of the global market. Furthermore, due to the recent sharp increase in shale gas production, MCO expects growth in business opportunities in both the gas and chemical fields: in the former, to build gas-related plants and facilities such as LNG shipping facilities; in the latter, for constructing new ethylene and other petrochemical plants. The establishment of MCO-I represents MCO's strategy for achieving growth in these highly promising markets. Through the new company, MCO will also proactively approach customers potentially interested in plant efficiency enhancement and facility renewal projects.

To carry out these business development activities in the booming North American market, MCO-I will establish the necessary structures in cooperation with MCO and MC. It also aims to provide customers with sales and marketing value for MCO's comprehensive services from the FEED (front-end engineering design) phase to project execution and after-sale servicing. To succeed in both of these initiatives, MCO-I will rely on the experience and expertise of sales and engineering supporting staffs from Japan and locally recruited employees familiar with this segment of the North American market, in cooperation with MC's human resources skilled in marketing in the U.S. To expand after-sale servicing business, MCO-I will cooperate with Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA), which serves as the regional headquarters of MHI's power systems business in the Americas.

MCO has earned utmost respect in the petrochemicals market for its technologically proven large compressor trains. MC is a strategic partner of both MHI and MCO, having provided support in planning business development strategies for compressor-related products and conducted marketing activities for more than 30 years. Going forward, with the establishment of MCO-I as a new foothold, MCO and MC look to further strengthen and expand their respective compressor businesses globally, while also further expanding their general business involvement in the gas and energy fields.

Note: A compressor is a device that increases the pressure of air or gas through compression. Large-size compressors are widely used in industrial applications including oil/gas production, petrochemical plants, oil refineries, and gas processing/transportation. A compressor is one of the core components that significantly affect a plant's performance and reliability.