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LATHAM, NY – June 17, 2010 – Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, announced today that Sysco has deployed 98 GenDrive™ fuel cell units to power a fleet of The Raymond Corporation’s electric lift trucks at its new Houston, Texas distribution center. GenDrive product is placed into 72 Raymond Model 8400 pallet trucks and 26 Raymond Model 7400 Reach-Fork® trucks. Sysco celebrated a grand-opening of its highly-efficient distribution center today.
The units will be immediately put to work, moving both dry and freezer goods throughout the 585,000 square foot facility. Cold-storage areas of the distribution center can reach temperatures as low as negative eight degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike lead-acid batteries that do not react well under cold temperatures, fuel cells continue to meet or exceed customer requirements despite the sub-zero temperature.
Indoor hydrogen fueling dispensers, provided by Air Products (NYSE: APD), are strategically located throughout the distribution center. Truck operators can quickly refuel the GenDrive units in less than 2 minutes, completely eliminating the need to change, store, charge and maintain multiple lead-acid batteries per truck.
Plug Power’s environmentally friendly power solution also allows Sysco to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions created at its new facility. GenDrive, fueled with hydrogen, creates only water and heat as by-products.
“Sysco has been a great customer to work with throughout GenDrive’s field testing and we’re excited to see them now convert a full Raymond fleet from batteries to fuel cells,” said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. “Sysco is a market leader in adopting green technologies and we are proud to be a partner in their successful efforts to commercialize alternative energy resources.”
Sysco, the global leader in the food service distribution industry, has been involved in the development and field testing of GenDrive power units since 2001. Its interest allowed Sysco to witness the financial, operational and environmental benefits that fuel cell solutions offer. Sysco operates more than 190 distribution centers across North America.
This installation is partially funded by an award made to Sysco in April, 2009 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The DOE intends this funding to accelerate the commercialization and deployment of fuel cells and create jobs in fuel cell manufacturing, installation, maintenance and support services.
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, Wegmans, Whole Foods, and FedEx Freight. With more than 1,000 units in the field and over 1.5 million hours of runtime, Plug Power manufactures tomorrow’s incumbent power solutions today. Visit us at www.plugpower.com.
Plug Power Inc. Safe Harbor Statement
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or convert to revenue, in whole or in part; the cost and timing of developing our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such development costs; we may be unable to achieve the forecasted gross margin on the sale of our products; our 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 and GenSys 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 both GenDrive and GenSys; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; our ability to manufacture products on a large-scale commercial basis; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of complying with current and future governmental regulations; the impact of deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry on demand for Plug Power's energy products; 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, 2009, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 16, 2010, and the reports we file from time to time with the SEC. We do not intend to and undertake no duty to update the information contained in this communication.
For additional information about The Raymond Corporation or to locate a Raymond Sales and Service Center, visit the company Web site at www.raymondcorp.com or call (800) 235-7200. Above. And beyond.®, iBattery™, iWarehouse®, iWarehouse Gateway™, Raymond®, Reach-Fork®, and Swing-Reach® are U.S. trademarks of The Raymond Corporation.
©2010 The Raymond Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Media Relations Contact:
Reid Hislop
Plug Power Inc.
782-7700 ext. 1360
media@plugpower.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Cathy Yudzevich
Plug Power Inc.
Phone: (518) 782-7700 ext. 1448
investors@plugpower.com
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