Singapore, 1 November 2006 - Sandvik South East Asia Pte. Ltd has today inaugurated its new regional head office and logistics centre at the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore (ALPS). Gracing the occasion was Mr. S Iswaran, Minister of State for Trade and Industry.

The S$ 23 million investment in a state-of-the-art building has been designed to provide excellent working conditions for all employees and in an environmentally considerate manner. The construction has a high level of thermal insulation, thus reducing substantially the energy required to cool the building.

"Designing a building with the latest construction technology together with a sophisticated building management system has enabled us to provide a first-class air-conditioned environment to all employees whilst also satisfying our corporate responsibility towards a sustainable environment," says Mr. Peter Gossas, Chairman of Sandvik South East Asia and President of Sandvik Materials Technology.

Sandvik has been operating in Singapore since 1969 and has had a great development. This was boosted in 2000 when a Distribution Centre for Sandvik Coromant was established to provide customers throughout Asia Pacific with a next day delivery service. The effectiveness of this operation and the continued addition of Sandvik's Tooling brands resulted in further tremendous growth. The Airport Logistics Park of Singapore proved an ideal location for a new distribution centre with short transit times to the airport’s cargo hub, enabling more timely customer service than from the former location. The investment also provided an ideal opportunity to consolidate the various Sandvik operations in Singapore onto a single site. The Economic Development Board has been effective in supporting Sandvik's investment in Singapore as a regional logistics hub.

In addition to Sandvik's Tooling distribution, the new facility also houses the Asia Pacific Distribution operation for its Sandvik Mining and Construction service parts, providing similar customer benefits. The new building is also Sandvik's regional head office in South East Asia, with approximately 60 staff supporting the local and regional sales, marketing and administration, together with the regional office for Sandvik Mining and Construction's sales and service with 10 staff.

"With almost 40 years history of operations in Singapore, our success has been built on providing superior customer value through our products and services. We are excited to take this concept further with the enhancements that our new building will bring for the future," said Mr. Nigel Haworth, President of Sandvik South East Asia.