Unique Mobility Announces Equity Stake in Privately-Held Aeromax Corp
20 April 2000
Unique Mobility Announces Equity Stake in Privately-Held Aeromax Corporation;
Recently Introduced Wind Turbine From Aeromax
to be Powered By UQM(R) Generator
GOLDEN, Colo., April 20 Unique Mobility Inc. (Amex: UQM)
announced today that it has acquired a minority equity interest in
privately-held Aeromax Corporation of Prescott Valley, Arizona. Aeromax
Corporation recently introduced a wind turbine for residential and commercial
use, the Omni Bypass 1kilowatt (OB1KW) wind turbine, powered by a UQM(R)
1kilowatt generator.
Wind turbines are rotary wing driven power generation products that
convert wind energy to electric energy. Wind turbines range in size from 500
watt units designed to meet some of the power requirements of an average
household to thousands of kilowatt units in utility operated wind turbine
power generation sites. Many of the more remote areas in North America are
not served by electric utility service either because it is not available or
is available only at a prohibitive cost. Utilities routinely require owners
of remote property to pay for the cost of running power poles and cable from
the nearest power delivery point to the owner's property. As a result, many
of these property owners acquire alternative power generation equipment to
meet their power requirements including 500 watt to 2 kilowatt wind turbine
power generation units, solar panels and diesel, gasoline or propane powered
generators.
The OB1KW wind turbine has been designed to eliminate many of the problems
associated with small wind turbine machines including, overheating and
excessive noise, product failures in high winds or wind shear conditions,
rotating group inefficiencies and tower shadow turbulence. The OB1KW produces
its rated power of 1 kilowatt in less than a 20 mph wind, is rated to handle
high wind conditions producing up to 3.6 kilowatts of power on an intermittent
basis. It is equipped with proprietary uni-directional carbon fiber blades
that allow for its improved low wind performance and reduced noise levels and
Unique's gearless, direct drive generator that improves efficiency and also
reduces noise levels and maintenance requirements. The OB1KW wind turbine
will retail for $1,873. Other associated products include an active turbine
electronic controller that retails for $691 and a quick assembly 52 foot load
transfer tower kit that retails for $957. Aeromax also offers a wide range of
battery containment systems and turbine tower kits.
"We are pleased to be a minority owner in Aeromax Corporation and to add
this dynamic company to our growing list of customers who have been able to
realize the benefits of our high efficiency, compact and lightweight permanent
magnet motors in their product applications. The particular generator used in
the OB1KW wind turbine is a variant of the gearless brushless (GB) motor that
we currently manufacture and sell for electrically powered wheelchairs. Use of
this generator will allow Aeromax to deploy a field proven, superior
performing machine at a very competitive price," said William G. Rankin,
Unique's President and CEO.
Said David L. Sears, Aeromax Corporation's President, "We are extremely
pleased with the performance of the UQM(R) generator. The OB1KW wind turbine
product combines gearless, direct drive permanent magnet motor technology from
Unique with our proprietary carbon fiber blade and active turbine electronic
control technologies to deliver a superior product for the rapidly expanding
market for distributed power generation products. We expect to apply this
technology to a broad line of higher power wind turbines and to aggressively
move into larger international markets."
Aeromax Corporation is a privately-held wind turbine generator and solar
energy company based in Prescott Valley, Arizona providing custom tailored
alternative power generation solutions to customers and locations worldwide.
For more information on the Company, please visit its worldwide website at
http://www.aeromaxwindenergy.com .
Unique Mobility, Inc. is a leading developer and manufacturer of power
dense, high efficiency motors, gear assemblies and electronic assemblies for
the automotive, aerospace, telecommunications, medical and industrial markets.
A major emphasis of the Company is developing products for the alternative
energy technologies sector including the electric, hybrid-electric and fuel
cell electric vehicle and distributed power markets. The Company's
headquarters and engineering and product development center are located in
Golden, Colorado. Manufacturing facilities are located in Frederick, Colorado
(electric motors and gear assemblies) and St. Charles Missouri (electronic
assemblies and wire harnesses). For more information on the Company, please
visit its worldwide website at http://www.uqm.com .
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future
events or results. Readers are referred to the Risk Factors section of the
Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-78525) filed by the Company
with the SEC, which identifies important risk factors that could cause actual
results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements,
including the Company's ability to become profitable, its ability to obtain
additional financing, the Company's reliance on major customers and suppliers
and the possibility that product liability insurance may become unavailable.
These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the
date of the press release. The Company disclaims, however, any intent or
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.