As brutal acts of war by Russian forces continue in Ukraine, more and more Western companies are choosing to cease doing business in Russia.
Now Pentair, an Irish-incorporated American water treatment company best known among brewers for their membrane filtration, has also decided to exit its Russian business.
“We made the decision to exit what has been a very small business in Russia,” said Robert P. Fishman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Pentair during an earnings call today.
“Exiting the business resulted in a USD 6 million charge relating to the write-off of receivables, inventories and other costs related to contracts that we will no longer fulfill. This was the right thing to do, and we note that both our sales before and this cost related to our exit were immaterial amounts.”
Previously, the company was listed by Yale University economics professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld in a so-called “List of Shame” as one of the companies supporting the Russian regime by doing business in the country. (inside.beer, 19.4.2022)
In December 2013, Pentair opened its central office for its operations in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow which combined several Pentair businesses under one roof, including Thermal Management, Equipment Protection, Flow Technologies, and Filtration & Process. The new hub was to complements the company’s existing presence in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Siberia.
In addition, Pentair opened a new facility in Saint Petersburg, Russia two years later. The new design institute was meant to provide support for projects requiring design and specification for heat tracing and process-maintained industrial applications.
