Niederweningen, 07 April 2005

The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred Bucher Industries' completed acquisition of Johnston Sweepers Ltd. to the UK Competition Commission for a competition investigation.

Bucher Industries announced completion of the acquisition of the European and Australian activities of Johnston Sweepers Ltd, UK, on 31 March 2005. Prior to that date anti-trust clearances in Germany and Spain had been received pursuant to mandatory notifications. The decision by the OFT was made public by announcement dated 6 April 2005 and included the information that a decision of the Competition Commission is expected by 20 September 2005.

Until the Competition Commission has cleared the merger Bucher Industries will operate its municipal vehicles business completely independently from the acquired businesses of Johnston Sweepers Ltd. Bucher Industries will fully co-operate with the Competition Commission and is confident of its position that the merger will not result in a substantial change of actual or potential competition in the UK.

Bucher Industries is a technology group operating worldwide with leading market positions in specialty fields of machine and vehicle construction. The company's areas of activity include specialized agricultural machinery, municipal vehicles, wine and fruit juice production plants, hydraulic components, and production equipment for the container glass industry. Bucher Industries' shares are traded at the SWX Swiss Exchange (SWX: BUC).

Contact
Philip Mosimann, CEO
Roger Baillod, CFO
Phone +41 44 857 22 07