PEARL RIVER, N.Y. – May 23, 2003 – Hudson Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:
HDSN), a leading refrigerant services company, today announced the
reorganization of its RefrigerantSide® Services division and that
the Company is in the process of creating strategic alliances to
focus on industries that Hudson believes have the highest sales
potential.
In addition to better
positioning Hudson for growth, efficiencies created by the new
strategy should result in cost reductions of $1.6 million annually,
commencing in the third quarter of 2003. Included in the
reorganization will be a reduction of the overall workforce by
approximately 20%.
Kevin Zugibe, chairman and
chief executive officer, commented, "When we first rolled out our
RefrigerantSide® Services, we introduced our solution to specific
geographies. We have found over time that the best returns are
generated when we focus less on the one-off decontamination job, but
rather empower industry-expert sales representatives with the skills
and resources to partner with larger customers in targeted
industries, which represent the greatest demand for RefrigerantSide®
Services. Our new strategy is the culmination of extensive analysis
that entailed both internal reviews of Hudson's sales and delivery
system and external market research."
Industries that Hudson will
focus on include petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, industrial and
power plants, manufacturing, facility and property management, and
maritime.
To accelerate market
penetration, Hudson is creating strategic alliances with companies
that serve large end-user accounts in these targeted industry
sectors. Hudson expects that the alliance partners will co-locate
Hudson's equipment at their facilities and help to market its
services throughout the United States.
As a consequence of the new
strategy, Hudson will be closing six of its service depots,
resulting in a significant reduction in the overhead associated with
maintaining its current geographically focused depot network. The
territories currently served by the depots being closed will be
served by the Company's Hillburn, N.Y., Rantoul, Ill., Charlotte,
N.C., and Seattle facilities.
Mr. Zugibe continued, "The
alliances we are in the process of forming are the result of
relationships that have been created over the years through Hudson's
ability to deliver unmatched and evolving service offerings. These
companies are excited about working even more closely with Hudson to
better service their customers."
Mr. Zugibe continued, "The
most difficult part of this reorganization is that individuals, many
of whom have been dedicated employees of Hudson for a long time, are
by necessity being let go. The team in place, however, is very
strong and is incentivized to execute our improved business model."
In summary, Mr. Zugibe
stated, "These steps are intended to better reach our targeted
customer base, provide the highest level of customer service, drive
our business to consistent profitability and enhance shareholder
value."
About Hudson Technologies
Hudson Technologies, Inc.,
is a leading provider of innovative solutions to recurring problems
within the refrigeration industry. Hudson's proprietary
RefrigerantSide® Services increase operating efficiency and energy
savings, and remove moisture, oils and other contaminants frequently
found in the refrigeration circuits of large comfort cooling and
process refrigeration systems. Performed at a customer's site as an
integral part of an effective scheduled maintenance program or in
response to emergencies, RefrigerantSide® Services offer significant
savings to customers due to their ability to be completed rapidly
and at higher purity levels, and can be utilized while the
customer's system continues to operate. In addition, the company
sells refrigerants and provides traditional reclamation services to
the commercial and industrial air conditioning and refrigeration
markets. For further information on Hudson, please visit the
company's web site at
.
Safe Harbor Statement
under the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995
Statements contained herein,
which are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements
involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the company to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not
limited to, changes in the markets for refrigerants (including
unfavorable market conditions adversely affecting the demand for,
and the price of refrigerants), regulatory and economic factors,
seasonality, competition, litigation, the nature of supplier or
customer arrangements which become available to the company in the
future, adverse weather conditions, possible technological
obsolescence of existing products and services, possible reduction
in the carrying value of long-lived assets, estimates of the useful
life of its assets, potential environmental liability, customer
concentration, the ability to obtain financing and other risks
detailed in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The words "believe", "expect",
"anticipate", "may", "plan", "should" and similar expressions
identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date the statement was made.
