Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 5, 2009 � Empire Industries Ltd. (TSX-V:EIL) (�Empire� or the �Company�) announced today that it has sold the assets of the combustion technologies business of the Company�s wholly owned subsidiary, Tornado Technologies Inc. (�Tornado�) and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Tornado Technologies, Inc. (�Tornado-US�) to a privately-held enterprise. Proceeds of the transaction of $10.2 million, including the value of related working capital effective September 30, 2009, will be used by Empire to reduce existing debt obligations, substantially improving the Company�s liquidity. Specific terms of the all-cash transaction were not released.
�As we have previously stated, we are pursuing the sale of non-core assets in an effort to reduce our debt levels, and this transaction is another concrete example of successfully concluding such initiatives� said Guy Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Empire Industries Ltd.
Tornado will continue to carry on the business of the design, fabrication and sale of oil and gas production equipment, the design, fabrication and sale of hydrovac truck systems and the reconditioning and resale of high-quality used equipment for engineering companies and energy producers from its plants in Calgary and Stettler, Alberta under the name of Petrofield Industries.