WESTLAKE, Texas, Sept. 21, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Animal Health International, Inc. (Nasdaq:AHII), a leading distributor of animal health products in the United States and Canada, today announced that the Company hired 23 experienced sales professionals from Professional Veterinary Products, Ltd. ("PVP"), and opened a customer sales and service center in Omaha, Nebraska. In their new capacity at Animal Health, these sales representatives will build on their experience and relationships, solidifying the Company's reach in several important markets. In addition, the Company acquired certain strategic assets, including customer lists, from PVP, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 20, 2010.
Jim Robison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We have long believed that the animal health market would consolidate, and we will continue to be proactive in building our leading market position. The hirings and asset acquisitions we have announced today are consistent with this objective. Our new sales representatives will help us further penetrate the upper Midwest and northeast U.S. markets, and our new call center in Omaha will serve as a key hub for our expansion in the important Central States Market. We are delighted to welcome our new sales representatives to the Animal Health family, and look forward to their contributions."
About Animal Health International, Inc.
Animal Health International, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is engaged in the distribution of animal health products in the United States and Canada. The Company's subsidiaries distribute more than 40,000 products sourced from over 1,500 manufacturers to over 71,000 customers, including veterinarians, production animal operators, and animal health product retailers. Products the Company's subsidiaries distribute include pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, capital equipment, sanitizers, pet foods, devices and supplies. The Company was founded in 1954, and has its corporate headquarters located in Westlake, Texas.
The Animal Health International logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3240
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Animal Health International can give no assurance that expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited to, the current general economic conditions, our inability to maintain relationships with manufacturers, an adverse change in manufacturer rebates or our inability to meet applicable rebate targets, the outbreak of infectious disease within an animal population, the loss of products or delays in product availability from one or more manufacturers, the loss of key personnel, the consolidation among animal health product vendors, consolidation among our customers, currency exchange rates and other risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on September 10, 2010. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Animal Health International expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Animal Health International's expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.