June 26,
2008
VIA EDGAR AND OVERNIGHT
MAIL
Mr. John
Cash
Accounting
Branch Chief
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F
Street, NE
Washington,
D.C. 20549
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Re:
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Ameron International
Corporation
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|
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Form
10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended November 30,
2007
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Form
10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter Ended March 2,
2008
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Dear Mr.
Cash:
On behalf
of Ameron International Corporation (the “Company”), this responds to your
letter of June 16, 2008. For ease of reference, the numbered paragraphs
below correspond to the numbered comments in your letter, with your comments
presented in bold followed by the related response.
General
1. With
respect to Bondstrand Ltd. and Ameron Saudi Arabia Ltd., please advise uswhether
or not they provide you with financial or sales information and whether ornot
they pay you a dividend.
RESPONSE:
Bondstrand,
Ltd. (“BL”) and Ameron Saudi Arabia, Ltd. (“ASAL”) are joint-venture companies
located in Saudi Arabia. The Company holds a minority interest in ASAL, and
Ameron B.V. (“ABV”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company located in the
Netherlands, holds a minority interest in BL. Neither the Company nor ABV
exercise control over either BL or ASAL, nor do they have a role regarding the
sale of products by BL or ASAL. The Company receives from ASAL and BL monthly
financial statements along with brief operational comments. In addition, the
Company receives annual audited financial statements and a budget on an annual
basis for the coming fiscal year from ASAL and BL. The Company and ABV
periodically receive dividends from ASAL or BL.
2. We
note the statements in your letter dated May 21, 2008 that you understand
thatBondstrand Ltd. and Ameron Saudi Arabia Ltd. continue to use technology
thatyou had licensed to them, but for which they had both taken the unilateral
position that the license had expired, but they continue to use the technologies
in the Middle East. Please advise us whether or not you believe that Bondstrand
Ltd. and Ameron Saudi Arabia Ltd. use that technology for products sold to Iran
or Sudan.
RESPONSE:
The Company licensed its technology to
ASAL to manufacture and sell concrete pipe and linings for use in water systems.
ABV licensed its technology to BL to manufacture and sell fiberglass pipe and
fittings. These licenses to BL and ASAL restrict the sale of products using
licensed technology to the territory of Saudi Arabia. We do not believe that
ASAL or BL have sold products using such licensed technology, or have otherwise
sold any products, for use in Iran or Sudan.
3. We
note that the company’s foreign subsidiaries have made sales into Iran andSudan,
either directly or indirectly, that over the past 3 years total about
$18million. Please advise us how critical are your company’s products to either
countries production to the oil and gas industries in those
countries.
RESPONSE:
The
products sold were fiberglass pipe which is used for fluid conveyance. The
products manufactured and sold by the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are
generally available from a number of fiberglass pipe suppliers. In addition,
other alternate products, such as steel pipe, are readily available and could
easily be substituted for fiberglass pipe in all applications.
Therefore, the fiberglass pipe sold into Iran or Sudan would not be considered
critical to either country’s oil or gas industries.
* * * * *
If you
have any questions or comments regarding the foregoing, or have additional
questions or comments, please contact the undersigned at (626)
683-4000.
Sincerely,
/s/
James R. McLaughlin
James R.
McLaughlin
Senior
Vice President,
Chief
Financial Officer & Treasurer