GUANGZHOU, China - Carrier Corp. and Guangdong Midea Electric Appliances Co. Ltd, a unit of the Midea Group, have signed an agreement to form an air conditioning manufacturing joint venture, Foshan Midea Carrier Air Conditioning Equipment Co. Ltd, in Shunde, China. Midea will hold a 60 percent stake and Carrier will hold the minority stake in the joint venture. He XiangJian, chairman of the Midea Electric board, and Geraud Darnis, chairman and president of Carrier Corp., celebrated the contract signing at a ceremony in Guangzhou.

The Midea-Carrier joint venture will produce residential and light commercial duct-free split air conditioning systems exclusively for Carrier for the global market. The partners expect the manufacturing facility to be fully operational by the end of the year.

“The Midea-Carrier joint venture is a milestone in Carrier’s long and successful relationship with Midea,” said Darnis. “This venture brings together the strengths of two leaders in the global air conditioning industry.”

Midea is said to be the largest exporter and leading air conditioning manufacturer in China. Midea offers design expertise and manufacturing scale in duct-free split systems while Carrier brings a well-recognized brand name and global distribution network to the joint venture. Carrier has a significant presence in China with seven factories, more than 100 sales and service offices, 2,500 employees, and a state-of-the-art global research and design center in Shanghai that opened in December 2006.

Midea and Carrier will invest 200 million Yuan (U.S. $29 million) in registered capital to establish the new company.

“Carrier has a rich history in China and this investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to China and its HVACR markets,” said Darnis.

In addition to Foshan Midea Carrier Air Conditioning Equipment Co. Ltd, Midea Air Conditioning and Toshiba Carrier Corp. have four successful manufacturing joint ventures. Carrier indirectly participates in those joint ventures through its minority ownership of Toshiba Carrier.

For more information, visit www.carrier.com.

Publication date:07/07/2008