Editor’s Note: In the following Candid Visions article, Dresser-Rand Company president and chief executive officer, Vincent R. Volpe, Jr., describes the significance of the sale of Dresser-Rand to First Reserve Corporation. Maintaining Focus on the Client If there’s one thing we’ve learned in this business, it’s that change is inevitable. And from Dresser-Rand’s perspective, change has always been for the better. In more than 100 years of business, we have persistently redefined our self based on the ever-changing needs and requirements of our clients, both domestic and international. More recently, from the early days of our joint venture in 1987, to acquisition by Ingersoll-Rand in 2000, we have continued to improve our product and service offerings in worldwide markets.  Now, as we move forward as an independent company teamed with the knowledge and resources of First Reserve, we will be in an even stronger position to build on our record.  During the course of more than 20 years, First Reserve has maintained a proven track record of successful investments in the energy industry. They understand the energy sector and they understand our business. Most importantly, they believe in the value we bring to our clients and our potential as a global provider of services and solutions to the energy infrastructure. As an independent company, we will continue to concentrate on those aspects of our strategy that have served us well these past few years and brought value to our clients through superior technology, reduced cycle times and continually improved business processes. We firmly believe that by focusing on these areas, we bring long-term value to our clients in enhanced asset productivity and the lowest operating cost over the life cycle of their equipment. In addition, we believe that we will benefit from First Reserve’s encouragement in investing in initiatives that will bring profitable growth to our business over the near and long term.  We understand that real success lies in continuing to support the needs of our clients with superior products and reliable service throughout the entire life cycle of the equipment. This is nothing new for us. Beginning in the mid-1800s, Dresser-Rand legacy companies such as Clark, IR, Worthington, Turbodyne, Terry, and Moore began building their reputations with an unbroken lineage of quality and outstanding support of our clients. This heritage and Dresser-Rand’s demonstrated effectiveness in maintaining its commitment to clients during periods of change confirm our resolve. Dresser-Rand is recognized worldwide as a leading OEM supplier of equipment and services for total solutions to the energy infrastructure. With an eye towards the most advanced technology and continuous R&D efforts, we are ideally positioned to offer our clients innovative products and services – from the most efficient centrifugal compressor (the DATUM®) to RECON condition and performance monitoring. Our reach includes every continent of the world, supplying products ranging from single-stage steam turbines for agriculture to complete compression modules for the oil and gas industry. We realize that continued progress requires standardizing the critical processes we use to conduct business throughout the world. This way, we can provide added value to our clients through improved quality and service – such as standardizing our interactions from how we respond to inquiries to how we handle requests from field operations. Our aftermarket business is strong. Our installed equipment base now exceeds 70,000 units – substantially larger than any of our competition. And we have an unparalleled record of maintaining this equipment, whether it be a simple replacement part or full operation and maintenance of our clients’ assets. These attributes, in addition to our dedication to providing innovative new products, will remain at the heart of our mission. I have complete confidence in our future under ownership of First Reserve as we begin this exciting new chapter in our long history. Their purchase of Dresser-Rand reaffirms the success of our advanced-technology products and services, as well as our company’s business strategy as we take advantage of today’s strong markets. With that focus and commitment to our clients throughout the world, I can assure you that Dresser-Rand will flourish, as we continue to bring value to our clients through superior technology, reduced cycle times and continually improving business processes. Vincent R. Volpe President and CEO Dresser-Rand Company more on First Reserve Corporation