Third Quarter Highlights:

--  Diluted Earnings Per Share ("DEPS") were $0.37 for the third quarter
    of 2009, which included expenses for profit improvement initiatives, non-
    recurring items, impairment charges and the related income tax effect that
    reduced DEPS by $0.24.  Excluding these items, DEPS would have been $0.61.
--  Profit improvement projects continue to be implemented on schedule and
    resulted in operating margin improvement compared to the second quarter of
    2009.
--  Cash provided by operating activities exceeded $55 million for the
    quarter, including more than $15 million as a result of inventory
    reductions.
--  Debt was reduced by $57 million, due to net repayments of $64 million
    which were partially offset by the unfavorable effect of changes in foreign
    currency exchange rates.
    

Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE: GDI) announced that revenues and operating income for the three months ended September 30, 2009 were $428.8 million and $31.9 million, respectively, and net income and diluted earnings per share were $19.4 million and $0.37, respectively. For the nine-month period of 2009, revenues were $1,327.4 million and the Company generated an operating loss of $169.7 million and a net loss of $202.4 million, or $3.90 on a per share basis. The three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2009 included expenses totaling $15.8 million and $304.9 million, respectively, for profit improvement initiatives, nonrecurring expenses and impairment charges. These expenses coupled with the related income tax effect and discrete tax items reduced DEPS for the three and nine-month periods ending September 30, 2009 by $0.24 and $5.52, respectively.

CEO's Comments Regarding Results

"During the third quarter, we continued to realize benefits from the restructuring and profit improvement initiatives we have implemented to date," said Barry L. Pennypacker, Gardner Denver's President and Chief Executive Officer. "As a result of our aggressive integration efforts, the operating margin for the CompAir business was comparable to that of the overall Industrial Products Group, excluding profit improvement initiatives and other nonrecurring charges. I am very pleased with the improvement in the operating margin attained by the Industrial Products Group in the third quarter of 2009 compared to that of the second quarter of 2009, which exceeded our expectations. The Group was able to quickly respond to incremental demand from OEM customers and realized some benefit from its cost reductions earlier than previously planned.

"The Engineered Products Group completed the consolidation of production facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the integration of the Puchheim and Memmingen, Germany manufacturing operations. We were able to accelerate the relocation of certain manufacturing cells from Sheboygan, Wisconsin to Monroe, Louisiana, mainly due to the outstanding training support provided by the state of Louisiana, which has been integral to the success of this project.

"We plan to complete the closure of manufacturing operations in Gloucester, U.K. in the fourth quarter of 2009 and Sheboygan in the first quarter of 2010. Upon the completion of these projects, we will have closed seven facilities, reduced manpower by approximately 1,600 people and reduced our costs by approximately $70 million on an annualized basis. We believe approximately $40 million of these savings will be reflected in operating income in 2009 and an additional $25 million in 2010. We have implemented our standard information systems at 5 locations this year and undertaken lean training and process improvements at every one of our facilities. We believe these actions will help us realize our objective to create a leaner organization while maintaining our ability and capacity to satisfy increases in end market demand when macroeconomic conditions improve.

"Our efforts to streamline operations and reduce costs remain on track. Our internal goals of innovation and velocity require that we concentrate our efforts on the needs of our customers, while continuing to lean our processes and reduce costs through profit improvement initiatives. We believe our efforts will result in greater manufacturing flexibility, allowing us to respond quickly to changes in customers' requirements with shorter lead times and innovative products. Our efforts to become a leaner organization have contributed to lead-time and inventory reductions. Inventory turnover improved slightly in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the second quarter of 2009, despite an inventory build-up for large shipments planned for the fourth quarter by the Engineered Products Group.

"Compared to the second quarter of 2009, orders for industrial products in the third quarter increased in all regions of the world, with the greatest recovery on a percentage basis occurring in Europe. The most significant recovery in demand occurred for OEM products, which benefited both the Industrial Products Group and the Engineered Products Group. We believe this improvement is more a reflection of the replenishment of customers' inventory from unusually low levels rather than increases in end-user demand. We also received increased orders for petroleum products in the third quarter of 2009, as a result of our ability to meet customers' requirements for quick deliveries of drilling pumps destined for international locations, and increased demand for well servicing pumps and related aftermarket products as a result of reduced surplus inventory in the field.

"Compared to the third quarter of 2008, orders in the third quarter of 2009 reflected the deterioration in global demand that has been experienced since late 2008, consistent with reduced rates of industrial production and capacity utilization and lower demand for petroleum products as a result of lower energy prices."

Outlook

Mr. Pennypacker stated, "Our visibility into future order trends is still rather limited. We believe that demand for our industrial products tends to correlate with the level of manufacturing, as measured by capacity utilization. The significant contraction in manufacturing capacity utilization in the U.S. and Europe since the fourth quarter of 2008 resulted in lower demand for capital equipment, such as blowers and compressor packages, and for aftermarket services as existing equipment remains idle. U.S. capacity utilization improved in the third quarter of 2009, from 68.3 percent in June to 70.5 percent in September, which we believe indicates a slightly more positive environment for aftermarket services for industrial equipment, but capacity utilization has not increased sufficiently to warrant capital investments by manufacturing companies. As a result of our expectation for a slow economic recovery, we anticipate demand for industrial products to remain relatively flat for the remainder of 2009 and we continue to remain cautious in our outlook. When demand begins to recover, we expect to initially see increased orders for aftermarket parts and shorter lead-time products that are more susceptible to swings in the economy, such as those that serve light industry and Class 8 trucks. At this point, we have not yet seen signs of that demand improving but feel that it will remain stable.

"Revenues for Engineered Products depend more on existing backlog levels than revenues for Industrial Products. Our current outlook assumes that several large orders for Engineered Products are shipped in the fourth quarter of 2009, including approximately $15 million in loading arms destined for South America and $15 million in engineered packages for tar sands projects in Canada. At present, primarily as a result of a lower rig count in North America and reduced prices for natural gas, demand for petroleum products is significantly less than the comparable period in 2008. We are uncertain how long orders for petroleum products will remain at these lower levels."

Mr. Pennypacker stated, "Based on the uncertain economic outlook, our existing backlog and cost reduction plans, we are projecting the fourth quarter DEPS to be in a range of $0.61 to $0.65. Profit improvement projects and other potential initiatives will continue to be implemented in the fourth quarter of 2009. Accordingly, we may record additional profit improvement charges and non-recurring items totaling approximately $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 related to potential and in-process initiatives. Actual profit improvement costs incurred in the fourth quarter of 2009 will depend on, among other things, the economic climate and the availability of government-funded incentives to partially offset the cost of relocating equipment and personnel. Excluding profit improvement costs, the fourth quarter DEPS is expected to be in a range of $0.68 to $0.72. The effective tax rate assumed in the DEPS guidance for the fourth quarter of 2009 is 30 percent.

"The full-year 2009 net loss per share is expected to be in the range of $3.29 to $3.25. This projection includes estimated profit improvement costs (primarily consisting of severance expenses), non-recurring items, impairment charges and non-cash tax items totaling $5.59 per share. Full-year 2009 DEPS, adjusted to exclude profit improvement costs, non-recurring items, impairment charges and all non-cash tax items, are expected to be in a range of $2.30 to $2.34."

Mr. Pennypacker noted, "The Company continued to reduce net working capital during the third quarter, enhancing cash flow provided by operating activities. In the third quarter, cash provided by operating activities exceeded $55 million, including more than $15 million as a result of inventory reductions. This cash was used to repay $64 million of net debt. On a year-to-date basis, cash provided by operating activities was $148 million, of which $55 million was a result of inventory reductions. For the nine-month period of 2009, net debt repayments have totaled $135 million. We expect this trend to continue through the remainder of 2009, which should result in further reductions in debt and position the Company to make acquisitions, should the appropriate opportunities become available."

The Company invested approximately $34.8 million in capital expenditures during the nine-month period of 2009, compared to $28.9 million in the same period of 2008. Capital expenditures in the nine-month period of 2009 include the second quarter purchase of a manufacturing facility previously leased by a CompAir subsidiary. Depreciation and amortization expense increased to $51.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, compared to $44.7 million in the same period of 2008, primarily due to the acquisition of CompAir in October 2008. The Company expects capital spending to be approximately $50 million to $55 million in 2009.

Revised Reportable Segment Composition

Effective January 1, 2009, the Company reorganized its five former operating divisions into two major product groups: the Industrial Products Group and the Engineered Products Group. The Industrial Products Group includes the former Compressor and Blower Divisions, plus the multistage centrifugal blower operations formerly managed in the Engineered Products Division. The Engineered Products Group is comprised of the former Engineered Products, Thomas Products and Fluid Transfer Divisions. These changes were designed to streamline operations, improve organizational efficiencies and create greater focus on customer needs.

The 2008 reportable segment results included in this press release have been recast to conform to the current presentation. The Company furnished unaudited selected pro forma segment results for each quarter of the year ended December 31, 2008 and for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006 in a Current Report on Form 8-K to the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23, 2009.

Intangible Asset Impairment

Under generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. ("GAAP"), the Company is required to assess goodwill and any indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually, or more frequently if circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. An impairment assessment under GAAP requires that the Company consider, among other factors, differences between the current book value and estimated fair value of its net assets, and comparison of the estimated fair value of its net assets to its current market capitalization. During the nine-month period of 2009, as a result of the significant decline in order rates for the Industrial Products segment, the uncertain outlook regarding when such order rates might return to levels and growth rates experienced in recent years and the decline in the price of the Company's common stock as of March 31, 2009, the Company determined that an impairment was appropriate and recorded charges totaling $263.6 million. These non-cash charges did not affect the Company's liquidity, compliance with debt covenants or cash provided by operating activities.

Third Quarter Results

Revenues decreased $51.5 million (11 percent) to $428.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009, compared to the same period of 2008. Industrial Products segment revenues and orders increased 4 percent and 5 percent, respectively, for the three-month period of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008, primarily due to the effect of the CompAir acquisition, largely offset by the reduced demand as a result of the economic slowdown and unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Engineered Products segment revenues decreased 27 percent for the three months ended September 30, 2009, compared to the same period of 2008, primarily due to lower volume in most product lines and unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Orders for Engineered Products decreased 40 percent in the third quarter, compared with the same period of 2008, due to lower demand for most product lines and unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates. See "Selected Financial Data Schedule" at the end of this press release.

Gross profit decreased $15.2 million (10 percent) to $135.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009, compared to the same period of 2008, primarily as a result of volume reductions and unfavorable product mix. Gross margins increased to 31.5 percent in the three months ending September 30, 2009, from 31.3 percent in the same period of 2008 and 29.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009, due to the benefits of operational improvements and cost reductions, despite the offset attributable to the loss of volume leverage and fixed cost absorption as production levels declined.

Selling and administrative expenses increased $9.6 million to $89.9 million in the three-month period ended September 30, 2009, compared to the same period of 2008, primarily due to an increase in expenses attributable to acquisitions ($21.7 million), partially offset by cost reductions ($9.3 million), including lower compensation and benefit expenses, and favorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates ($2.8 million). As a percentage of revenues, selling and administrative expenses increased to 21.0 percent for the three-month period ended September 30, 2009, compared to 16.7 percent for the same period of 2008, primarily as a result of the reduced leverage resulting from lower revenues.

Operating income, as adjusted to exclude the net impact of expenses incurred for profit improvement initiatives, non-recurring items and impairment charges ("Adjusted Operating Income") for the three-month period ended September 30, 2009 was $47.7 million. DEPS, as adjusted for the impact of profit improvement initiatives, non-recurring items and impairment charges ("Adjusted DEPS") for the three-month period ended September 30, 2009 were $0.61. Adjusted Operating Income, on a consolidated and segment basis and Adjusted DEPS are both financial measures that are not in accordance with GAAP. See "Reconciliation of Operating Income (Loss) and DEPS to Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted DEPS" at the end of this press release.