Emerson Ranks Second, Most Innovative Technology Companies

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 21, 2004 - Emerson's (NYSE: EMR) ongoing commitment to innovation and aggressive application of the best-in-class technology to deliver customer solutions and achieve operating efficiencies has earned the company the No. 2 ranking in InformationWeek magazine's annual list of the 500 best users of information technology.

"Emerson continues to improve productivity, and a significant factor is the greater utilization of information system standards, best practices, and shared infrastructure through our aggressive global IT initiatives," Emerson Senior Executive Vice President Charles A. Peters said. "Web-based information systems and high-speed bandwidth allows us to add valuable resources to support high growth markets and meet the evolving needs of our global customers."

Emerson has risen steadily in the InformationWeek 500 over the past five years, from No. 247 in its first year in the rankings in 2000, to No. 60 in 2001, No. 50 in 2002 and No. 26 in 2003.

In an article titled "Emerson Pushes Boundaries of IT" in InformationWeek's Sept. 20 survey edition, Oracle President Safra Catz said that Emerson, an Oracle customer, is "so far ahead of what most companies are dealing with. For them, it's absolutely critical to have the best information."

Also quoted in the story was Nicole Parent of Credit Suisse First Boston, who covers Emerson and other electrical-equipment companies, saying: "This is a company that is very IT sophisticated." Noting in the article that Peters, CEO David Farr, and the rest of Emerson's management team continue to invest in technology that helps customers increase productivity and profits, Parent added: "Few companies in this space have a management structure like Emerson."

For 16 years, the InformationWeek 500 has tracked organizations' IT agendas, providing a unique opportunity to understand and examine their business practices across core areas of technology operations. Companies named to this list demonstrate a pattern of technological and organizational innovation.

"Tech initiatives balance between opportunistic investment and cost effectiveness," said Rusty Weston, editor of InformationWeek Research. "Business-intelligence tools, content-management software, and increased use of automated processes are widespread strategies aimed at squeezing more costs out of IT operations."

The InformationWeek 500 is the most detailed source of industry-specific IT budget data. The research project gathered in-depth information directly from companies about how they approach and prioritize their IT investments. The research identified and ranked the companies following an extensive online and phone study.

St. Louis-based Emerson is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers in electronics and telecommunications; process control; industrial automation; heating, ventilating and air conditioning; and appliance and tools. Sales in fiscal 2003 were $14 billion.