BRC Brady Corp

Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC), a world leader in identification solutions and specialty materials, announced today that it has expanded its manufacturing operations near Bangkok, Thailand and in Penang, Malaysia, and has opened a new manufacturing center and shared services center in Bangalore, India. Brady (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Brady Technology Sdn Bhd in Malaysia were established to expand Brady�s manufacturing presence in the Asia/Pacific region and provide a greater level of support to Brady�s growing customer base in the region. Brady�s operations in Thailand are centered around two recent acquisitions. The expansion there includes the addition of 25,000 square feet of class 10,000 clean-room space at Brady�s Chonburi facility, bringing the facility�s total manufacturing capacity to 65,000 square feet. Manufacturing in Thailand includes precision die-cut and stamped parts, and high-performance labels for the hard-disk-drive industry and related manufacturers. Brady now employs over 300 people in Thailand. �As the storage capacity of hard disk drives continues to expand exponentially, the demands for cleanliness and precision components is becoming a greater necessity for our customers. Our clean-room facilities in Thailand coupled with our engineering expertise allow us to provide cost-effective, leading-edge solutions to our customers,� said Allan Klotsche, Brady president � Asia Pacific. The expansion in Malaysia includes opening of a new 50,000 square-foot facility in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone in Penang, Malaysia. The new Penang facility houses manufacturing of high-performance labels and die-cut materials, as well as engineering and assembly of portable printers and cartridges for the Asian, European and U.S. markets. Brady first opened a sales office in Penang in 1998, and began manufacturing there in 2003. The company currently employs about 145 people in Penang. Manufacturing at the new 30,000 square foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility based in Bangalore, India will focus on high-performance labels and die-cut materials for mobile- phone and portable-electronics manufacturers. Brady has also opened a separate �Center of Excellence� in India to support Brady�s worldwide operations by processing back-office financial transactions. Brady employs 70 people in India. "Brady is committed to being the leader in the industry it serves by delivering differentiated solutions to its customers. Our increased presence in Thailand, Malaysia and India allows us to serve our customers better, strengthen key partnerships and extend our reach into fast-growing Asian markets," Klotsche added. Brady plans to continue to support its growth in the region with additional expansions in China and Japan in 2007. Brady Corporation is an international manufacturer and marketer of complete solutions that identify and protect premises, products and people. Its products help customers increase safety, security, productivity and performance and include high-performance labels and signs, safety devices, printing systems and software, and precision die-cut materials. Founded in 1914, the company has more than 500,000 customers in electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, electrical, construction, education, medical and a variety of other industries. Brady is headquartered in Milwaukee and employs more than 9,000 people at operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific. Brady�s presence extends throughout the Asia-Pacific region, which today accounts for nearly 30 percent of total company sales which were approximately $1.018 billion in fiscal 2006. Brady believes that certain statements in this news release are �forward-looking statements� within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements related to future, not past, events included in this news release, including, without limitation, statements regarding Brady's future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as �may,� �will,� �expect,� �intend,� �estimate,� �anticipate,� �believe,� �should,� �project� or �plan� or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain and are subject to risks, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond Brady's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For Brady, uncertainties arise from future financial performance of major markets Brady serves, which include, without limitation, telecommunications, manufacturing, electrical, construction, laboratory, education, governmental, public utility, computer, transportation; difficulties in making and integrating acquisitions; risks associated with newly acquired businesses; Brady's ability to retain significant contracts and customers; future competition; Brady's ability to develop and successfully market new products; changes in the supply of, or price for, parts and components; increased price pressure from suppliers and customers; interruptions to sources of supply; environmental, health and safety compliance costs and liabilities; Brady's ability to realize cost savings from operating initiatives; Brady's ability to attract and retain key talent; difficulties associated with exports; risks associated with international operations; fluctuations in currency rates versus the US dollar; technology changes; potential write-offs of Brady's substantial intangible assets; risks associated with obtaining governmental approvals and maintaining regulatory compliance for new and existing products; business interruptions due to implementing business systems; and numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive and regulatory nature contained from time to time in Brady's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, those factors listed in the "Risk Factors" section located in Item 1A of Part II of Brady's Quarterly Report on Form 10-K for the period ended July 31, 2006. These uncertainties may cause Brady's actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in its forward-looking statements. Brady does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.