February 28, 2005 - The five-year, $8 million deal will see AT&T link over 100 Messer Group locations in more than 30 countries across Europe.
The agreement with AT&T is part of the strategic restructuring of Messer's IT infrastructure, and is in addition to an outsourcing agreement with Accenture concluded in 2004*.
"In order to be able to grow profitably, our Group needs an IT infrastructure that has been optimized for our business processes but also generates cost savings,” said Dr. Hans-Gerd Wienands, Chief Financial Officer of the Messer Group. "Our new corporate network is faster, more stable and more secure than the previous solutions. It will also result in lower operating costs from 2006 onwards."
Messer Group recognized that the new corporate network would first and foremost help create competitive advantages. In the future, it will no longer be possible to modify existing business practices or to introduce new applications without utilizing the latest network technologies. This new infrastructure provides Messer Group with a key tool to support the targeted growth of the company," commented Martin Schütz, Vice President and country manager for AT&T Germany.
The Messer Group's new network, an Internet Protocol-based virtual private network (IP-VPN), will reflect the latest in state-of-the-art technology. This technology forms the basis for secure, stable, speed-adjustable connections. It is also flexible enough to incorporate business locations of all sizes and will make it possible to access business-critical applications from virtually any of the Group's locations, anywhere in the world.
AT&T's task will be to set up, control and monitor the network for Messer and to guarantee specific availability and performance criteria.
The Messer Group
Messer is one of the leading producers of industrial gases, with over 60 companies operating in 32 countries throughout Europe and Asia. International activities are directed from Frankfurt, while the central technical functions of logistics, engineering, production and application technology are managed in Krefeld. In 2004, the over 4,000 employees generated consolidated sales of over 500 million euros.
Messer Group offers one of the largest product portfolios in the market, ranging from acetylene to xenon. The company produces industrial gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, inert welding gases, special gases, medical gases and several different gas mixtures.
In their advanced centers for research and development, the Messer Group develops application technologies for gases in almost all industry sectors, in food processing, medicine, research and science.
About AT&T
For more than 125 years, AT&T (NYSE 'T') has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services.
