Graham Corporation Wins $5 Million of Orders for Investments in New Petrochemical Capacity

• U.S. Orders From Ongoing Investments in Petrochemical Capacity Expansion
• China Order to Provide Innovative Surface Condenser Designs to New Petrochemical Plant

BATAVIA, N.Y., Feb. 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Graham Corporation (NYSE MKT:GHM) ("Graham" or the "Company"), a global business that engineers, manufactures, and sells critical equipment for the oil refining, petrochemical and power industries, and also supplies components and raw materials for nuclear energy facilities, announced that it was recently awarded four orders for three projects valued at approximately $5 million. The projects are for the petrochemical markets in the U.S. and China and are expected to ship during the next 9 to 12 months.

The two U.S. orders are for new petrochemical production facilities in the Gulf Coast region, specifically an ethylene plant and a propane dehydrogenation plant. Recent investments in U.S. petrochemical capacity have been driven by the abundance of low cost natural gas and natural gas liquids from the development of shale formations. As a result, petrochemical feedstock production costs have been reduced significantly, which in turn has created an improved competitive landscape for the U.S. petrochemical market.   

James R. Lines, Graham's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We have considerable presence in the U.S. petrochemical industry and continue to experience strong bidding activity for new or expanded production capacity, particularly for ethylene, methanol and ammonia. These feedstocks in turn drive many other downstream production facilities that can also present opportunities for our equipment. We believe our proven capabilities, long-term experience and large installed base have driven our dominant U.S. market share to date for surface condensers and ejector systems in this current expansion cycle."

The two orders for the project in China are also for a new petrochemical plant.  Mr. Lines noted, "We engineered an innovative surface condenser to provide improved facility efficiency for our customer. This order follows the successful operation of our first installation of similar specialized equipment in China two years ago."  

He concluded, "Given current market dynamics, the strongest demand for our products recently has come from the North American chemical/petrochemical markets. Nonetheless, the active bids included in our $800 million to $1 billion pipeline are for diverse geographies and end markets. We believe the active bids in our pipeline demonstrates the breadth of our potential growth opportunities."

ABOUT GRAHAM CORPORATION

With world-renowned engineering expertise in vacuum and heat transfer technology, Graham Corporation is a global designer, manufacturer and supplier of custom-engineered ejectors, pumps, condensers, vacuum systems and heat exchangers. For more than 75 years, Graham has built a reputation for top quality, reliable products and high-standards of customer service. Sold either as components or complete system solutions, the principal markets for Graham's equipment are energy, including oil and gas refining and nuclear and other power generation, chemical/petrochemical and other process industries. In addition, Graham's equipment can be found in diverse applications, such as metal refining, pulp and paper processing, shipbuilding, water heating, refrigeration, desalination, food processing, pharmaceutical, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, and in nuclear power installations, both inside the reactor vessel and outside the containment vessel. 

Graham Corporation's subsidiary Energy Steel & Supply Co. is a leading code fabrication and specialty machining company dedicated exclusively to the nuclear power industry.

Graham Corporation's reach spans the globe. Its equipment is installed in facilities from North and South America to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Graham routinely posts news and other important information on its website, www.graham-mfg.com, where additional comprehensive information on Graham Corporation and its subsidiaries can be found.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "projects," "typically," "goal," "anticipates," "target," "potential," "believes," "appears," "could," "plan," and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events, or developments that Graham Corporation expects or anticipates will occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the current and future economic environments affecting Graham Corporation and the markets it serves; expectations regarding investments in new projects by customers; sources of revenue and anticipated revenue, including the contribution from the growth of new products, services and markets; expectations regarding achievement of revenue and profitability expectations; plans for future products and services and for enhancements to existing products and services; operations in foreign countries; Graham Corporation's ability to continue to pursue its acquisition and growth strategy; the ability to expand nuclear power work, including into new markets; the ability to successfully execute existing contracts; estimates regarding liquidity and capital requirements; the timing of conversion of backlog to sales; the ability to attract or retain customers; the outcome of any existing or future litigation; and the ability to increase productivity and capacity. Because they are forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Graham Corporation's most recent Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading entitled "Risk Factors." 

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Graham Corporation's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Graham Corporation's forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Graham Corporation disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.

CONTACT: Jeffrey F. Glajch
         Vice President - Finance and CFO
         Phone: (585) 343-2216
         Email: jglajch@graham-mfg.com

         Deborah K. Pawlowski / Karen L. Howard
         Kei Advisors LLC
         Phone: (716) 843-3908 / (716) 843-3942
         Email: dpawlowski@keiadvisors.com / khoward@keiadvisors.com

Released February 12, 2014