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Title: AMSC Receives Follow-on Order from
Semiconductor Chip Manufacturer for Power Quality Solution
Date: 9/5/2007 7:30:01
AM
-- Order
for PQ-IVR(R) Solution is AMSCaEUR(TM)s First
from Outside the U.S. -- Productivity and Throughput of Wafer Fab in Southeast Asia
to be Dramatically Increased by Eliminating Momentary Voltage Sags -- 107
MVAR Industrial Power Quality Solution Includes 10 Proprietary D-VAR(R)
Modules
WESTBOROUGH, Mass., Sep 05, 2007 (BUSINESS
WIRE) -- American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading
energy technologies company, today announced that a major U.S.-based
semiconductor chip manufacturer has placed a follow-on order for AMSC's Power Quality Industrial Voltage Restorer
(PQ-IVR) system for one of its large wafer fabrication facilities in
Southeast Asia. This is the third substantial order for AMSC's
proprietary full factory power quality solution from the semiconductor
industry. It is also the first order for a PQ-IVR to be shipped outside the
U.S.
and is the second order from this customer.
Momentary sags in
voltage lasting less than two seconds on the power lines serving
manufacturing sites account for more than 90% of factory downtime. According
to a report commissioned in 2001 by the Electric Power Research Institute,
power quality problems of this kind cost U.S. companies more than $15
billion annually. AMSC's proprietary PQ-IVR
solutions are placed at the interface between the power lines and factories
to detect voltage disturbances and instantly restore the voltage to normal
levels, thereby protecting sensitive microprocessor-based manufacturing
equipment.
"Manufacturers in
the intensely competitive semiconductor industry are always seeking ways to
enhance yield and throughput at their fabs,"
said Chuck Stankiewicz, executive vice president
and general manager of AMSC Power Systems. "With its ability to
eradicate voltage glitches that can otherwise shut down sensitive equipment
and ruin millions of dollars of in-process product, the PQ-IVR has given
industry leaders a measurable competitive edge. We see great potential to
penetrate this market further in the years to come."
AMSC's PQ-IVR industrial power quality
solution offers large industrial power users the means to avoid common,
disruptive power quality problems. The customized PQ-IVR solution for the
Southeast Asian fab is rated at 107 megaVARs (MVAR) and includes 10 D-VAR(R) modules, along
with ancillary components and controls that are programmed to mitigate
voltage sags and swells within milliseconds for 30 megawatts of critical
load at the facility. AMSC expects to commission the solution for the
customer in the first half of calendar 2008.
Among AMSC's other customers in the industrial market is
Micron Technology, which adopted the PQ-IVR solution at its Boise, Idaho
semiconductor fab in 2004. To read a case study
on AMSC's solution for Micron Technology, visit
http://www.amsc.com/documents/MCRN_CS_0207_A4_FINAL.pdf. Additional
information about the company's industrial power quality solutions is
available at http://www.amsc.com/products/powerQuality/index.cfm.
About American
Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)
AMSC is a leading
energy technologies company offering an array of solutions based on two
proprietary technologies: programmable power electronic converters and high
temperature superconductor (HTS) wires. The company's products, services
and system-level solutions enable cleaner, more efficient and more reliable
generation, delivery and use of electric power. AMSC is a leader in
alternative energy, offering grid interconnection solutions as well as
licensed wind energy designs and electrical systems. As the world's
principal supplier of HTS wire, the company is enabling a new generation of
compact, high-power electrical products, including power cables, grid-level
surge protectors, Secure Super Grids(TM), motors, generators, and advanced
transportation and defense systems. AMSC also
provides utility and industrial customers worldwide with voltage regulation
systems that dramatically enhance power grid capacity, reliability and
security, as well as industrial productivity. The company's technologies
are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio
consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide. More information
is available at www.amsc.com.
American Superconductor
and design, Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity, AMSC,
Powered by AMSC, SuperVAR, D-VAR, DVC, PQ-IVR, PowerModule, PQ-SVC, Secure Super Grids, Windtec and SuperGEAR are
trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation
or its subsidiaries.
Any statements in this
release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the company,
including our expectations regarding the future financial performance of
the company and other statements containing the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "expects,"
"will" and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. There are a number of important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements. Such factors include: uncertainties regarding
the company's ability to obtain anticipated funding from corporate and
government contracts, to successfully develop, manufacture and market
commercial products, and to secure anticipated orders; the risk that a
robust market may not develop for the company's products; the risk that
strategic alliances and other contracts may be terminated; the risk that
certain technologies utilized by the company will infringe intellectual
property rights of others; and the competition encountered by the company. Reference
is made to these and other factors discussed in the "Risk
Factors" section of the company's most recent quarterly or annual
report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the
forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the
company's views as of the date of this release. While the company
anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the company's
views to change, the company specifically disclaims any obligation to
update these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any
date subsequent to the date this press release is issued.
SOURCE: American
Superconductor Corporation
American Superconductor Corporation Jason Fredette, 508-621-4177 Director of Investor & Media Relations jfredette@amsc.com |