Joint Press Release of Forum US, Inc. and Howe-Baker International Ltd. Regarding Settlement of Litigation

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Forum US, Inc. and Howe-Baker International Ltd., Howe-Baker LLC, Howe Baker International LLC and Omid Malek (collectively “Howe Baker International Ltd.”) have settled a lawsuit in which Forum US, Inc. had accused Howe-Baker International Ltd. of violating the Federal Lanham Act based on several statements that appeared on Howe-Baker International Ltd.’s website. Howe-Baker International Ltd. states such statements were inadvertently included on the website.

Between January 2018 and October 2018, the website for Howe-Baker International, Ltd. contained certain untrue historical statements. For example, the website stated that Howe-Baker International, Ltd. was founded in Tyler, Texas over a half century ago and had installed over 500 oil treatment vessels worldwide. Howe-Baker International Ltd. was formed in the 1980s in the United Kingdom, whereas a different, unrelated entity, Howe-Baker Engineers, Inc., and its affiliates, originated in Tyler, Texas in the 1940s and were responsible for installing hundreds of oil treatment vessels worldwide. The EDGE product line developed by Howe-Baker Engineers in 1995 was later acquired by Forum US, Inc., doing business as Forum Energy Technologies, in 2012.

Forum continues to provide new EDGE electronic desalters and dehydrators and replacement parts for the EDGE product line and other oil treatment vessels manufactured by the original Howe-Baker Engineers.

Howe Baker International Ltd. will continue to provide electrostatic desalters and dehydrators and replacement parts using their own legitimate technology.

Howe-Baker International Ltd. states that any prior statements on the website suggesting that it was the original Howe-Baker were unintentional mistakes made by a third party who was redesigning the website for Howe-Baker International Ltd.

The lawsuit was settled on nonmonetary terms mutually acceptable to both parties, with no admission of fault or liability, and the parties agreed on the language of this Press Release.