Siemens expands investments in Brazil and announces a new global
Research and Development Center for Oil & Gas in Rio de Janeiro

Siemens will be installing in Brazil one of the most advanced global Research & Development (R&D) centers for the Oil & Gas sector. The announcement was made today at Palácio da Guanabara by Rio de Janeiro's Governor, Sergio Cabral and Siemens' global CEO, Peter Löscher. Result of a partnership with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the center shall receive an investment of roughly US$ 50 million from the company. The initiative is part of the company's plan of increase its activities with new investments in the country.

According to Löscher, besides having inaugurated eight new manufacturing facilities in the last five years, the company intends to grow even more and invest up to US$ 600 million through 2016 to expand technology and innovation activities and open new plants in the country. "Brazil is one of the drivers of the global economy and this trend is expected to continue over the next years. Today, our commitment to the country became even bigger", said Peter Löscher, Siemens' global CEO. "The new research and development center in Rio de Janeiro is a milestone in this new growth phase in Brazil", he added.

"With Siemens, Rio de Janeiro takes yet another step towards innovation and technological development. Now, the state of Rio de Janeiro goes from simply being a player only in the oil and gas base industry, to doing business at the level of intelligence, management of significant data. And having chosen Siemens to install itself in Rio de Janeiro makes it clear that the state plays an important role in the oil and gas sector. Without a doubt, the research center will contribute a lot to the economic development of our state and qualification of our work force", said Rio de Janeiro's Governor, Sérgio Cabral.

Siemens' new R&D Center will be installed at the Ilha do Fundão Technological Park in Rio de Janeiro, and is expected to start up by the end of 2012. With an area of four thousand square meters and operating initially with 800 researchers and engineers, the center is expected to generate at least another 200 high skilled jobs untill 2016. "Through this action, Siemens reinforces its commitment of 100+ years to the country's economic development, expanding the integration of Brazil's intellectual capital and scientific potential with the company's global network of innovation", said Adilson Primo, CEO of Siemens Brazil.

According to Primo, the initiative elevates the country to the status of global center of excellence in Advanced Engineering, Research & Development in Oil & Gas and Subsea Technologies within the Siemens Group. "Knowledge is the most valuable commodity in the global economy and, with this action, Siemens wishes to play an even greater role in the country's development and modernization, fostering greater local value-added", he said.

Siemens has been developing research and technology in Brazil together with customers, partnering companies, Brazilian research institutes and universities, especially in the energy sector. This closeness will allow the company to increase its rate of technological partnership, especially with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, through its Oil&Gas division, from which Chemtech is an important part.

To install its new R&D Center at the Ilha do Fundão Technological Park, the company underwent a rigorous selection process. At the site selected, the company is going to construct a building pursuant to the latest standards of energy efficiency and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification requirements.

Siemens Group in Brazil

Siemens has been present in Brazil for more than 100 years and is the biggest company in the country's electrical and electronics engineering market, with business activities in three Applications
Fields: Industry, Energy and Healthcare.The company's first activities in Brazil date back to 1867, with the installation of the first telegraph line between Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. In 1895, in Rio de Janeiro, it opened its first office and, ten years later, the company was founded in the country. Over the past century, the company has played a key role in building and modernizing the country's infrastructure, having supplied generators for the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant. Today, Siemens' equipment and systems generates in Brazil 50% of electricity, 30% of imaging diagnostics and its present in 2/3 of all Brazilian offshore platforms projected in the last 8 years. In Brazil, the Siemens Group has 10.170 employees, 13 factories and 6 research and development center all over the country.