EcH2O - still driving competition GREEN with ENVY!

Tennant Employees:

As you may have seen, a press release was issued this week by German manufacturer Karcher announcing that they have filed a lawsuit against Tennant alleging that Tennant has engaged in misleading advertising regarding the effectiveness of our ec-H2O technology. Tennant Company is defending our technology and company through the appropriate channels. Meanwhile, we have issued a statement to specific media inquiries.  The text of our statement is included below.

As always, if you should receive any media inquiries, please forward them to Kathryn Lovik, Director of Corporate Communications, 763-540-1212, 612-747-6356, kathryn.lovik@tennantco.com.  

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Date: September 19, 2011

“Tennant Company rejects the assertions by German manufacturer Karcher against Tennant’s proprietary electrically converted ec-H2O™ water cleaning technology. Tennant ec-H2O™ technology has been independently proven to be an effective chemical-free cleaning solution for customers worldwide in most general-purpose cleaning applications.

Tennant Company’s confidence in electrically converted water technology is substantiated by its own third-party, independent test results and analyses. Tennant ec-H2O technology has garnered many prestigious awards and certifications, including the R&D 100, the ISSA Innovation Award and European Business Award for Innovation, further validating its performance. However, the most compelling testimony comes from the voices of Tennant customers in a wide variety of industries, such as retail, health care and education, who are using ec-H2O to clean their facilities. These sophisticated customers, including some of the largest facility cleaning companies in the world, have independently tested and validated ec-H20 technology in their own environments and cleaning applications.  They have purchased – and continue to purchase – Tennant machines equipped with ec-H2O technology based on their own experiences with its performance.  We work very closely with our customers to ensure that the Tennant solution they purchase is relevant and effective in their specific environments.”

Further-

    Since 2008, ec-H2O ™ technology has been exceeding the expectations of satisfied customers. In fact, sales of scrubbers equipped with Tennant's ec-H2O technology grew approximately 85 percent in the 2011 second quarter compared to 2010 second quarter. In the first six months of 2011, sales of scrubbers equipped with ec-H2O totaled $67 million and Tennant expects 2011 full year ec-H2O sales in the range of $130 million to $140 million.

    By mid-2011, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) had granted more than 24,000 U.S. Patents that refer to “electrolysis”.

    Tennant customers have routinely conducted side-by-side comparisons of ec-H2O equipment and their existing equipment before buying Tennant ec-H2O scrubbers. When choosing products that work best in their particular situations, these sophisticated customers consider cleaning effectiveness and efficiency as well as cost of equipment and supplies, chemical storage, labor, training, safety and environmental impact.