Envirotest Provides Vehicle Emissions Testing For Taiwan
3 March 1998
Envirotest Provides Vehicle Emissions Testing For Taiwan; Initiative Expands Company's Business In International ArenaSUNNYVALE, Calif., March 2 -- Envirotest Systems Corp. (Amex: ENR) today announced it has finalized the first lease agreements for its proprietary vehicle emissions testing method, Remote Sensing Technology (RST). Using patented infra-red spectroscopy technology, RST can monitor exhaust emissions remotely and unobtrusively while vehicles are being driven on streets and highways. Under the lease agreements, Envirotest will provide eight RST units for use in Taiwan. The value of the six-month leases and related engineering training services to be provided by Envirotest is expected to total $850,000 in revenues. The agreements call for four RST units to be leased to each of two Taiwanese companies for the purpose of collecting fleet emissions data under contracts with the government of Taiwan. This data will be used to determine the technology's most appropriate role in future pollution abatement programs in the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, and surrounding areas. Envirotest's lease agreements reflect increased attention by Taiwan's government regarding the health effects of air pollution. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency has been exploring using RST to target motor vehicle emissions which are believed to be responsible for 60% of the air pollution in Taiwan and 90% in Taipei city alone, and has sponsored several small study projects over the past three years. The lessees of the RST equipment, Pinchin-Chartwell and Envimac Technologies, have worked on a variety of projects with the Taiwan EPA, including extensive work with the nation's vehicle emissions inspection programs. Chester Davenport, Chairman of Envirotest Systems Corp. said, "These agreements represent important initiatives for Envirotest in terms of the potential of RST as a future revenue platform and the company's expansion of its business on an international basis. We are excited to be working in Taiwan to advance the country's clean-air initiatives." Envirotest Systems Corp. is the leading provider of vehicle inspection services in the country and the only domestic company that provides vehicle inspection services outside the United States. This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. The Company cautions that these statements are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. A number of such factors are set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. SOURCE Envirotest Systems Corp.