Hill-Rom Asia-Pacific Innovation Center Holds Opening Event in Singapore

BATESVILLE, Ind. and SINGAPORE, Aug 24, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- HRC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Hill-Rom (NYSE: HRC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) has formally opened its Asia-Pacific Innovation Center in Singapore. Today, the company hosted an event to commemorate the opening. The selection of Singapore as the site for the Asia-Pacific Innovation Center was first announced in November 2007.

"Hill-Rom is pleased to celebrate the opening of this important addition to our global R&D footprint," said Peter H. Soderberg, president and CEO of Hill-Rom, who was present to host. "Our Innovation Center in Singapore represents an acceleration of our efforts to embed increasingly sophisticated and differentiated micro-electronics and software in our products. We also see the opening of this Center as an important step in globalizing our products and presence."

Attending the opening event as the guest of honor, Mr. Lim Siong Guan, chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board, said, "We congratulate Hill-Rom on the opening of its Asia-Pacific Innovation Center. Asia presents new growth opportunities for the medical technology industry with its growing ageing population and rising affluence. Against this backdrop, Singapore presents a strategic location for companies to tap on Asia's growth by forging strategic partnerships with our base of global industry partners, research institutes and hospitals. These partnerships will position Singapore as a one- stop location for companies to test-bed and develop cost-effective, efficient healthcare systems and solutions for the regional and global markets."

The Asia-Pacific Innovation Center is now the home base for new Hill-Rom teams focused on research & development projects for global applications of various Hill-Rom products. Teams in Singapore are developing projects that involve microelectronics, embedded software, and electro-mechanical systems. These projects are integral to the technical development of new Hill-Rom beds and therapy surfaces.

"Innovation and partnering are key levers for a successful medical technology company like Hill-Rom," said Abel Ang, chief technology officer for Hill-Rom. "That's why we saw Singapore as a perfect location. Not only does Singapore offer great technical talent, but also it provides an environment with sophisticated health care institutions and a strong government supportive of growth. As our R&D Center ramps up, we are looking to collaborate with our Asian partners to advance and test new bed technologies and business models with the intent of raising the standard of care offered to patients and caregivers worldwide."

The Singapore Center is part of Hill-Rom's previously announced strategic focus on R&D aimed at ensuring that Hill-Rom products uniquely meet the current and future needs of caregivers and the patients they serve. Announcement of the Center in Singapore followed an earlier 2007 addition of a Batesville-based Global Innovation Center which added approximately 80 new Indiana-based jobs. Hill-Rom also has R&D work ongoing at sites located in Montpellier, France and in Pluvigner, France. The Singapore Center is complementary to these world-wide efforts and will serve as a natural extension for Hill-Rom's current investments in its Suzhou, China location.

Soderberg explained that Hill-Rom has an ongoing commitment to its home base in Indiana but also recognizes the need to leverage opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region as well as to tap into the talents and strengths of a global workforce. Singapore, with its regional reputation for advancing technology development and innovation, its similarities to North America in terms of its health care environment and its proximity to the broader Asia- Pacific region made it a natural choice.

The company plans to have 17 associates based at the Asia-Pacific Innovation Center by the end of this year and plans additional expansion over the next five years. The Hill-Rom Asia-Pacific Innovation Center in Singapore now includes 11,000 square feet of space built out as offices, research and development labs and a customer experience center. In addition to the R&D staff, this location is the home to sales and marketing staff in the region.

About Hill-Rom

Hill-Rom is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry, including patient support systems, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals, and information technology solutions. Hill-Rom's comprehensive product and service offerings are used by health care providers across the health care continuum and around the world in hospitals, extended care facilities and home care settings to enhance the safety and quality of patient care.

Hill-Rom ... enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers. www.hill-rom.com

Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, regarding the Company's future plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, representations and projections. The Company has tried, wherever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "encourage," "expect," "may," "goal," "become," "pursue," "estimate," "strategy," "will," "projection," "forecast," "continue," "accelerate," "promise," "increase," "higher," "lower," "reduce," "improve," "expand," "progress," "potential" or the negative of those terms or other variations of them or by comparable terminology. The absence of such terms, however, does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. It is important to note that forward- looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in any forward- looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: the Company's dependence on its relationships with several large group purchasing organizations, whether the Company's new products are successful in the marketplace, changes in customers' Medicare reimbursements, collections of accounts receivable, compliance with FDA regulations, antitrust litigation, potential exposure to product liability or other claims, failure of the Company's announced strategic initiatives and restructuring and realignment activities to achieve expected growth, future restructuring or realignment activities, efficiencies or cost reductions, disruptions in the Company's business or other adverse consequences resulting from the recent spin-off of the funeral service business, failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the spin-off, failure of the Company to execute its acquisition and business alliance strategy through the consummation and successful integration of acquisitions or entry into joint ventures or other business alliances, increased costs or unavailability of raw materials, labor disruptions, the ability to retain executive officers and other key personnel, and certain tax- related matters. For a more in depth discussion of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward- looking statements, see the discussions under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended September 30, 2007, its Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 17, 2008, and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Hill-Rom

http://www.hill-rom.com

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