LATHAM, N.Y., April 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG) a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions recognizes the benefits that its GenDrive fuel cell product for material handling brings to grocery distribution centers. And, so do the grocery distribution customers. When comparing orders received by food distribution customers during the first quarter of 2011 with the year 2010 in entirety, Plug Power saw a growth rate of 55 percent.
The company is capturing upon building traction in the growing market space. During the first quarter of 2011, Plug Power received three additional orders from a customer who is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities.
A total of 315 units will be divided across three sites:
- 160 GenDrive units to be operational in Boston, MA
- 42 GenDrive units to be operational in Long Island, NY
- 113 GenDrive to be operational in San Antonio, TX
Each GenDrive-powered fleet is comprised of a mix of class-1 units for sit down counterbalanced trucks, class-2 units for reach trucks and class-3 units for rider pallet jacks. Particular to hydrogen fuel cells, use in cold storage areas does not interfere with operations as it does with lead-acid batteries. Hydrogen fuel cells maintain full power in dry and cold storage facilities, allowing for increased productivity from lift truck fleets.
By eliminating the need to charge batteries off the grid, each facility will significantly improve sustainability efforts. With a fleet conversion to GenDrive, customers will see a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions created at each site. Because GenDrive is a hydrogen-fueled system, the only byproducts of the energy creation process are heat and water.
At the same time, converted facilities will recoup valuable time and labor wasted in the battery changing area, instead of on the floor moving product. Unlike time-consuming lead-acid battery changing processes, hydrogen refueling takes as little as 60 seconds and can be performed by the truck operator.
"When Plug Power made a decision to dedicate all resources to our GenDrive business, we did so because we believed in the solution and the economic benefits it brought to our customers," said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. "We knew that once individual branches of large customers began to witness what GenDrive would do for its operations, word would spread, and the value would be disseminated to other territories of the business."
About Plug Power Inc.
The architects of modern fuel cell technology, Plug Power revolutionized the industry with cost-effective power solutions that increase productivity, lower operating costs and reduce carbon footprints. Long-standing relationships with industry leaders forged the path for our key accounts, including Sysco Foods, Wegmans, Whole Foods, and FedEx Freight. With more than 2 million hours of runtime, Plug Power manufactures tomorrow's incumbent power solutions today. Visit us at www.plugpower.com.
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Plug Power Inc. Safe Harbor Statement
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to expectations regarding revenues and product orders and shipments for 2011. These statements are based on current expectations that are subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties, any of which are difficult to predict, are beyond our control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations in our forward-looking statements including, but not limited to: the risk that we continue to incur losses and might never achieve or maintain profitability, the risk that the additional capital we expect we will need to raise to fund our operations beyond the first quarter of 2012 may not be available; our lack of extensive experience in manufacturing and marketing products may impact our ability to manufacture and market products on a profitable and large-scale commercial basis; the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or converted to revenue, in whole or in part; the risk that pending orders may not convert to purchase orders, in whole or in part; the risk that our continued failure to comply with NASDAQ's listing standards may severely limit our ability to raise additional capital; the cost and timing of developing, marketing and selling our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such costs; the ability to achieve the forecasted gross margin on the sale of our products; the actual net cash used for operating expenses may exceed the projected net cash for operating expenses; the cost and availability of fuel and fueling infrastructures for our products; market acceptance of our GenDrive systems; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; the cost and availability of components and parts for our products; our ability to develop commercially viable products; our ability to reduce product and manufacturing costs; our ability to successfully expand our product lines; our ability to improve system reliability for our GenDrive systems; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of complying with current and future federal, state and international governmental regulations; and other risks and uncertainties discussed under "Item IA-Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 31, 2011, and the reports we file from time to time with the SEC. Plug Power does not intend to, and undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.
CONTACT: Media Contact: Reid Hislop Plug Power Inc. Phone: (518) 782-7700 ext. 1360 Investor Relations Contact: Cathy Yudzevich Plug Power Inc. Phone: (518) 782-7700 ext. 1448
