PITTSBURGH, Aug. 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pittsburgh-based L.B. Foster Company (NASDAQ:FSTR), a leading manufacturer, fabricator, and distributor of products and services for rail, construction, energy, and utility markets, today announces the appointment of Alexandre Kosmala as Senior Vice President.

L.B. Foster Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Alex Kosmala as Senior Vice President responsible for the Tubular and Energy Services segment and the Construction segment.  Alex joins L.B. Foster from Saltel Industries, a provider of drilling and well construction products and well maintenance solutions, where he served as Executive Vice President. Previously, Alex served as President & CEO of Artificial Lift Company, a pioneer in the technology of slick-line deployed Electric Submersible Pumps and permanent magnet motors for well completion solutions. He helped globalize the company’s products and services by moving into un-served markets and developing relationships with the premier oil & gas developers in the world. Alex also spent 20 years with Schlumberger in various assignments around the world where he had P&L responsibility for businesses in Europe and Asia and successfully integrated new companies following acquisitions. He began his career as a field engineer in the drilling and measurements division of Schlumberger.

Alex holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in mechanical engineering from Universite Henri Poincaré, France, a Diplome d’Ingenieur from École Nationale Supérieure d’Electricité et de Mécanique, France and a Masters in Aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was recently recognized as a distinguished alumnus.

In announcing the appointment, Robert P. Bauer, L.B. Foster Company President & CEO said; “I am very pleased to have Alex join the management team. The combination of his diverse operating skills, strong technical background, and proven leadership ability will be a great asset as he assumes responsibility for our businesses that serve the energy and construction markets. At a time when our markets are changing and customers place significant demands on their suppliers, Alex is the kind of leader who can develop strategies that adjust to changing requirements and teams that will deliver solutions.”

Alex will have an office in Houston, Texas where nearly all of the Tubular & Energy Services divisions are based, as well as at the Company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh. His appointment is effective August 15, 2016.

About L.B. Foster Company
Established in 1902, L.B. Foster Company is a leading manufacturer, fabricator, and distributor of products and services for the rail, construction, energy, and utility markets with locations in North America and Europe. More information is available at: www.lbfoster.com

This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Statements that do not relate strictly to historical or current facts are forward-looking. When we use the words “believe,” “intend,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate,” “could,” “estimate,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” or their negatives, or other similar expressions, the statements which include those words are usually forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated in any forward-looking statement.  Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on current expectations and assumptions about future events. While the Company considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance and results of the Company’s business and forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, an economic slowdown or a continuation of the current economic slowdown in the markets we serve; the risk of doing business in international markets; our ability to effectuate our strategy including evaluating potential opportunities such as strategic acquisitions, joint ventures, and other initiatives, and our ability to effectively integrate new businesses and realize anticipated benefits; costs of and impacts associated with shareholder activism; a decrease in freight or passenger rail traffic; the timeliness and availability of material from our major suppliers; labor disputes; the effective implementation of an enterprise resource planning system; changes in current accounting estimates and their ultimate outcomes; the adequacy of internal and external sources of funds to meet financing needs; the Company’s ability to manage its working capital requirements and indebtedness; domestic and international taxes; foreign currency fluctuations; inflation; domestic and foreign government regulations; continued and sustained declines in energy prices; a lack of state or federal funding for new infrastructure projects; increased regulation including conflict minerals; an increase in manufacturing or material costs; the ultimate number of concrete ties that will have to be replaced pursuant to the previously disclosed product warranty claim of the Union Pacific Railroad (“UPRR”) and an overall resolution of the related contract claims as well as the possible costs associated with the outcome of the lawsuit filed by the UPRR; risks inherent in litigation and those matters set forth in Item 8, Footnote 19, "Commitments and Contingent Liabilities" and in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 as updated by any subsequent Form 10-Qs. The Company urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that the Company faces.  The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

Media Contact:
Jake Fuellhart, Corporate Marketing Communications Manager, L.B. Foster Company
412.928.5645 jfuellhart@lbfoster.com