ITT expects double-digit Asia sales growth

By Ben Klayman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - ITT Industries Inc. (ITT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) expects to post sustained double-digit growth in its Asia-Pacific business, the manufacturing conglomerate's chief executive said on Wednesday.

The company, mostly due to demand in China, has regional sales in the $500 million range, or 7 percent of its global sales, Steve Loranger told the Reuters Manufacturing and Transportation Summit in New York.

"We anticipate sustained double-digit growth there," he said.

The White Plains, New York-based company -- which manufactures products for the defense, space, fluid technology and other industries -- employs 6,500 people in China and has nine plants there.

A major growth area for the company in China is its fluid technology business, which includes pumps, filters and other equipment for processing water and sewage.

ITT, which will change its name to ITT Corp. in July, expects to hit a $200 million annual rate of sales in that business in China by the end of the year, up from a $70 million run rate at the end of last year, Loranger said.

As for its defense unit -- which makes radios and night vision systems for U.S. troops -- Loranger feels more confident than he did last year as ITT makes products in such areas as surveillance, data processing and communication, where it is harder to cut spending and demand remains strong.

He pointed out that ITT's Roanoke, Virginia, night vision systems plant is operating around that clock and he does not expect that to end any time soon, as demand for those products grew 25 percent last year.