| For
Immediate Release
Powerspan
Corp. Appoints Directors from FirstEnergy Corp., The Beacon Group,
and American Electric Power
AKRON,
OH, July 24, 2000Powerspan Corp., an emerging energy technology
company, today announced the appointment of Guy L. Pipitone, Preston
R. (Jeff) Miller, Jr., and Martin (Marty) L. Mearhoff to the Company's
board of directors. This announcement comes at the closing of over
$26 million in new financing received from a group of investors
including FirstEnergy Corp., The Beacon Group, American Electric
Power (AEP), Calvert Group, and Zero Stage Capital.
Guy Pipitone, 50, is Vice President, Fossil Generation, of FirstEnergy
Corp., a diversified energy services holding company. FirstEnergy's
electric utility operating companies comprise the nation's tenth
largest electric system, serving 2.2 million electric customers
in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Pipitone has over 25 years of experience in engineering and management
of utility operations. In 1972, Pipitone joined Ohio Edison Company—an
operating company of FirstEnergy—as an engineer and has served in
a number of positions in the generation area, including plant manager
of the Gorge and W. H. Sammis power plants. He has served as manager
of the Production Department, Akron division manager of the Distribution
Group, and vice president of the Generation & Transmission Group.
For the Ohio Edison merger with Centerior Energy, Pipitone was appointed
as Transition Manager. Pipitone was elected to his current position
in 1997.
Jeff Miller, 51, is a partner of The Beacon Group. Beacon is a private
investor group that manages funds totaling billions of dollars across
industries in which they have special knowledge, including energy,
financial services, information distribution and technology, healthcare,
and consumer products and services.
Prior to the formation of The Beacon Group in 1993, Miller spent
14 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he was a vice president in
the Structured Finance Group. Miller had global responsibility for
coverage of the independent power industry, asset-backed power generation,
and oil and gas financing. In addition to specialized expertise
in power generation, Miller has a broad background in investment
banking, including corporate finance, private placements, project
finance, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged leasing, tax-exempt
financing and principal investments.
Marty Mearhoff, 43, is vice president of Renewable Energy and Advanced
Technologies at AEP. AEP is a multinational energy company and one
of the nation's largest generators of electricity with more than
38,000 megawatts of generating capacity and delivering electricity
to more than 4.8 million customers in 11 states.
Mearhoff has more than 20 years of experience in utility operations
and has held key management positions in AEP's power generation
organization. Beginning his career with AEP in 1979 in plant engineering,
Mearhoff held several engineering management positions within the
mechanical engineering division prior to being named head of AEP's
Environmental Engineering Services Department in 1993. In 1997,
Mearoff was named head of AEP's Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
division. Most recently, Mearhoff was vice president of Electrical/Mechanical
Engineering for AEP Pro Serv, Inc., the company's professional services
organization providing services to AEP's power plants and third
parties.
"The
addition of Guy Pipitone, Jeff Miller, and Marty Mearhoff as directors
adds tremendous depth and breadth to Powerspan's board. Their contributions
will be vital as we complete development and prepare for full-scale
commercial delivery of ECO systems on coal-fired power plants,"
said Frank R. Alix, Powerspan Corp. chairman and CEO. Powerspan's
patented Electro-Catalytic OxidationTM (ECO) technology
applied to coal combustion systems provides the functionality of
four separate air emission control technologies in a single integrated
system and produces valuable byproducts that become the feedstock
for other industrial processes.
Pipitone, Miller, and Mearhoff join current board members Gordon
B. Baty, managing director of Zero Stage Capital—a leading regional
venture capital firm based in Cambridge, MA; Dean Kamen, president
and owner of DEKA Research & Development Corporation—a Manchester,
NH, based company specializing in advanced technologies in medical
equipment; Morton E. Goulder who is involved with numerous venture
capital and angel investments; and Frank R. Alix, chairman and CEO
of Powerspan Corp.
About
Powerspan Corp.
Powerspan Corp. is engaged in the development and commercialization
of innovative, proprietary energy technology for the global electric
power industry. The Company is a pioneer in building cost effective
and timely solutions for the existing power generating base. Company
research and development efforts focus on unique applications of
its proprietary electrotechnology to air emission control and water
disinfection. Powerspan offers technology solutions to address the
competitive needs of the new energy economy. More information on
Powerspan is accessible at www.powerspancorp.com.
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Powerspan
Corp.
Contact: Stephanie Procopis, Director of Marketing
Phone: (603) 859-2500, ext. 20
Fax: (603) 859-2501
Email: sprocopis@powerspancorp.com
www.powerspancorp.com
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