AFL Acquires Verrillon, Inc.

20/09/2010

Spartanburg, SC - AFL today announced it has agreed to acquire Verrillon, Inc., a leading manufacturer and supplier of specialty optical fibers in the oil and gas, avionics and industrial markets. This acquisition enhances AFL’s portfolio of fiber optic products, adding specialty optical fiber to its portfolio and further strengthening its position as a market leader of fiber optic solutions. In addition to reinforcing AFL’s leadership position in downhole fiber optic cable, this acquisition provides AFL access to other specialty fiber markets including industrial and sensing.

“At AFL, we were very impressed with Verrillon’s proven team, outstanding product set, and market traction,” stated Kurt Dallas, Vice President and General Manager, at AFL. “We know that the integration of Verrillon into AFL provides many synergies and growth opportunities globally.”

With manufacturing operations in North Grafton, Massachusetts, Verrillon specializes in designing and customizing specialized fibers for harsh environments including hermetic, high temperature, polarization-maintaining and rare-earth doped fibers.

“Verrillon and AFL offer complementary products to various markets. By bringing the two teams together, we are well positioned to take full advantage of the growing markets we serve while reinforcing our commitment to the industry and to our customers,” commented Dr. Abdel Soufiane, President and CEO of Verrillon. “We are proud to be part of a growing global company and look forward to collaborating on future projects.” With the close of the acquisition, Dr. Soufiane will remain with AFL as Managing Director and CTO.

AFL manufactures fiber optic cables and components in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the United Kingdom and Germany. Verrillon will continue to operate its current facility in Massachusetts. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About AFL
AFL is an industry leader in providing fiber optic products, engineering expertise and integrated services to the electric utility, broadband, telco, OEM, enterprise and wireless markets as well as the emerging markets of oil and gas, mining and medical. A subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan, AFL has operations in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.www.AFLglobal.com

About Verrillon
Verrillon Inc. develops, manufactures and markets innovative specialty optical fiber for the oil and gas, industrial and military markets. Verrillon’s product range includes Harsh Environment Fibers, Polarization-Maintaining Fibers and Rare-earth Doped Fibers. Verrillon is focused on providing optical fiber with high quality, cost effective, and technically advanced fiber-based solutions. www.verrillon.com

Contacts
  Kurt Dallas, Vice President & General Manager
AFL
864.433.5552
kurt.dallas@aflglobal.com