November 29, 2006	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 7, 1427

KARACHI, Nov 28: Engro Innovative Automation (Pvt.) Ltd. (EIAL) — a 51 per cent owned subsidiary of Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited - announced on Tuesday that it had entered into agreement to acquire 70 per cent business interest in US firm - Advanced Automation Associates (AAA), Inc, USA.

Addressing a press conference, the Chief Executive Officer of EIAL, Bakhtiar Wain, said that Advanced Automation was an industrial automation company based in Pennsylvania, USA whose primary line of business was similar to that of EIAL. The total investment by EIAL in this venture, he said, would be approximately Rs450 million.

Mr Wain stated that EIAL had started as a business division of Innovative Pvt. Ltd. (IPL) in July 1995 to implement industrial automation, electric engineering and process control systems for the local industry. In April 2003, it was acquired by Engro Chemical Pakistan Ltd (ECPL) to form an ECPL subsidiary, by the name of Engro Innovative Automation Pvt. Ltd.

The company has its head office in Lahore and regional offices in Islamabad, Karachi and the UAE. The CEO told the press that after extensive experience of Pakistan and Middle East’s industrial automation market, the company had decided to venture into North American market by acquiring stakes in the US company.

The CEO hoped that the US company would provide EIAL a window to the world’s biggest industrial market.