Further European Order for Wellington Drive

Media Release

19 July 2002: For immediate release

Further European Order for Wellington Drive

Wellington Drive Technologies (NZSE:WDT) today announced a development order for a new motor to be used in domestic appliances. The new contract is with a European appliance component manufacturer. The company is the world leader in its market, utilising over 7 million motors each year.

”We’ve designed a new motor (the DI072) for the customer’s new component platform that is scheduled for release late next year,” said WDT managing director, Dr Ross Green.

“As the world market leader, our customer has strong competencies including strengths in advanced fabrication electronics. Our team is working with their engineers on the controller design and we’re gaining useful exposure to the processes used in multi-million unit production.”

Green said that the efficient use of materials made possible by the DI072 design was important. “Our motor uses around 30% less plastic, copper and iron than their current motor, which delivers real cost efficiencies. The low noise behaviour, speed control and energy efficiency of the DI072 were also important, but not as important as the material savings.”

The development order is expected to lead to production of the DI072 motor under licence in Europe. Green said that licensing terms had been discussed, and that WDT and the customer would be working to complete an agreement over the next few months. He said that the recently announced CE certification achieved for the DE066 motor and CH070 controller had also helped the decision process.

“We were told they had been looking for a suitable motor in Europe for several years without success, and they were surprised to find one on the other side of the world that met their standards. A referral from a prospective customer of ours first caught their attention, confirming that our sales and marketing efforts are beginning to make an impact.”

Made from specialised plastics, permanent magnets and electronics, WDT’s brushless motor design offers lower noise and longer life than conventional approaches. It also requires less than half the energy to run and can be made in virtually any shape.

WDT has agreed a non-disclosure agreement with the customer.

Ends.

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