LATHAM, N.Y., April 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, today announced it will deploy a fleet of 65 GenDrive™ fuel cell units for customer, Ace Hardware Corporation. The power units will be used at Ace Hardware's newest Retail Support Center, located in Wilmer, Texas. Construction on the facility broke ground in mid-March for completion in early 2014. The lift trucks are manufactured by Crown Equipment Corporation.
Plug Power's GenDrive units competed against lead-acid batteries and fast charge batteries to be deemed the best power source for material handling fleet. GenDrive is able to offer Ace Hardware increased productivity of its lift truck fleet as well as a more efficient use of its facility space. Operational costs are reduced as a result of decreased operator and vehicle off floor time. GenDrive fuel cells can be fueled by truck operators in less than two minutes.
Ace Hardware will also see reduced greenhouse gas emissions by using GenDrive power units in its operations. Because GenDrive is powered by hydrogen, the only by-products are heat and water. The removal of toxic lead-acid batteries from this new facility also creates a safer environment for employees as well as the community and helps fulfill Ace's desire to improve the sustainability of their distribution centers.
"We look forward to working with Ace Hardware as yet another new customer in the Plug Power lineup. Over the next six to 12 months Ace Hardware will see improved productivity, lower electrical bills and more floor space available for storing goods," said Andy Marsh, Plug Power's CEO.
"Ace Hardware is pleased to align with Plug Power, an organization that will help drive our commitment to clean energy," said Dave Forte, Director of Distribution Support and Engineering, Ace Hardware Corporation. "The implementation of a hydrogen fuel cell based application for our material handling equipment advances our strategy to provide the highest level of support to our customers and the communities that we serve, and that includes distribution centers that are focused on sustainability."
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 Wegmans, Whole Foods, and FedEx Freight. With more than 3,500 units in the field and over 6 million hours of runtime, Plug Power manufactures tomorrow's incumbent power solutions today. Visit us at http://www.plugpower.com/">www.plugpower.com.
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About Ace Hardware
For nearly 90 years, Ace Hardware has been known as the helpful hardware store in thousands of neighborhoods across America, providing customers with a more personal kind of helpful. With more than 4,600 hardware stores locally owned and operated across the globe, Ace is the largest hardware cooperative in the industry. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries currently operate 14 distribution centers in the U.S and also have distribution capabilities in Shanghai, China; Panama City, Panama; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its retailers' stores are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 60 countries. For more information on Ace, visit www.acehardware.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, including but not limited to expectations regarding revenues and product orders for 2013. 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 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; 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 system; 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 GenDrive; 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; 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, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 1, 2013, 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.