Barco Sells Production Site to Brownfield Developer PSR
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Decontamination liability also taken over by PSR
KORTRIJK, BELGIUM, 23 November, 2007 - Barco announced that it sold its site at Sevenslaan in Kortrijk to Gent brownfield developer PSR n.v. for the amount of 1.8 million euro. By doing so, Barco not only completely parts with the land and the buildings, but also with the related environmental liabilities. The site's major soil and groundwater pollution, due to the many years' of industrial activities on the part of Barco and the site's previous owners (chemical laundry and dyeing plant and pottery), will be structurally and permanently cleaned up by PSR, the industry's market leader. Discussions with the Kortrijk city administration have started in the framework of this redevelopment. The aim is to develop a mixed residential area, based on a revolutionary and sustainable concept, which will be acceptable by both local residents and policymakers.
The sale of the Sevenslaan site to PSR fits in with the sale of the BarcoVision division to Italian ITEMA. BarcoVision's current headquarters are located at Sevenslaan, where they will stay for the time being, given that the BarcoVision division will sign a rental agreement with PSR in this respect.
Barco initiated the official sales process in 2007. From the shortlist of candidates, PSR appeared to be the most suitable. A great number of tests, carried out since 2000 at Barco's request, have shown major groundwater pollution, which furthermore extends beyond the site's boundaries and reaches the residences behind the railway. After first observations were made, Barco implemented OVAM procedures (OVAM=Openbare Vlaamse Afvalstoffenmaatschappij/Public Flemish Waste Company), informed the relevant local residents and kept them apprised of further developments. Once the pollution was fully mapped out, Barco decided to transfer the risks linked to the polluted assets to a specialist party, which would also provide a full solution for the problem.These plans will be further explained during a press conference today.
See also: psr.eu/html/over_nieuws.aspx?cl=eng
About PSR
As a brownfield developer, PSR is specialized in the redevelopment of unused and often heavily polluted land and factories.
To this end, PSR, which has been active under this name since 1999, takes over the polluted assets and related redevelopment obligations.
After decontamination new real estate projects are developed in order for the land to be economically viable. PSR can rely on years of experience in brownfield development and has successfully completed several projects.
For further information about PSR and Brownfield visit www.psr.eu
About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3800 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of euro 751 million in 2006.
For more information, please contact
JP Tanghe
Vice President Barco
President Corporate Communication & Investor Relations
Barco nv
Phone:+32 56 26 23 22
Fax:+32 56 26 22 62
jp.tanghe@barco.com
