Minneapolis — September 20, 2013 – Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC), a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions that help create a cleaner, safer, healthier world said today that it has withdrawn its appeal of the June 2013 German court decision in Kärcher’s lawsuit regarding the wording used in advertisements of Tennant Company’s proprietary ec-H2O™ technology, a chemical-free cleaning technology based on the well-known process of electrolysis.
“Tennant Company has not altered its position that the decision of the German court is, respectfully, based on incomplete and inaccurate information,” said Heidi Wilson, Tennant Company General Counsel and Secretary. “The withdrawal is for purely commercial reasons as the case was primarily about advertising claims that are no longer being used by Tennant,” Wilson continued.
“Tennant maintains that the two laboratory bench tests performed by the court-appointed advisor were seriously flawed. The first test had no applicability to Tennant’s ec-H2O chemical-free technology as the test is typically used to measure properties in traditional chemical cleaners. The second bench test, which involved a soil of concentrated fats, has little correlation to cleaning with any scrubber-dryer, regardless of the cleaning solution being used,” explained Wilson.
“There is no standard for performance testing in our industry. Real-world operation remains the test that truly matters and our customers are the true judges of performance,” Wilson continued.
“Tennant customers who have chosen to effectively clean their facilities with reduced chemical usage are satisfied with the performance of ec-H2O. And for those who wish to see results for themselves, we invite them to a free demonstration of ec-H2O performance on their facility’s specific soils,” said Chris Killingstad, President and CEO of Tennant Company.
Tennant Company continues to stand behind its ec-H2O technology based on extensive internal and external tests and the experiences of customers who have years of experience cleaning with ec-H2O, according to Killingstad.
“As a leading innovator in our industry, Tennant Company has chosen to invest its resources in the continued innovation and launch of additional sustainable cleaning technologies that clean effectively, reduce the use of chemicals, improve customer productivity and enhance operator safety,” said Killingstad.
Tennant Company introduced its proprietary ec-H2O technology in 2008. ec-H2O is based on the established process of electrolysis. The U.S. Patent office has issued more than 800 patents for water electrolysis, several of which belong to Tennant Company. Tennant ec-H2O customers include many of the world’s largest and most successful professional cleaning and facility service providers. As of the end of 2012, Tennant had more than 4,000 ec-H2O customers across the globe, 40,000 ec-H2O scrubbers in the marketplace and $444 million (USD) cumulative ec-H2O sales. For more information, please go to www.ec-h2ofacts.com.
About Tennant Company
Minneapolis-based Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) is a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions that help create a cleaner, healthier world. Its products include equipment for maintaining surfaces in industrial, commercial and outdoor environments; chemical-free cleaning technologies; and specialty surface coatings for protecting, repairing and upgrading floors. Tennant's global field service network is the most extensive in the industry. Tennant has manufacturing operations in Minneapolis, Minn. (USA); Holland, Mich. (USA); Louisville, Ky. (USA); Uden, The Netherlands; Falkirk, The United Kingdom; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Shanghai, China; and sells products directly in 15 countries and through distributors in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit www.tennantco.com.
