Plug Power Aligns Executive Team to Prep Business for Growth and New Market Expansion in 2015


LATHAM, N.Y., Jan. 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, today announced changes to its corporate management team that provide the structure needed to enable Plug Power to translate success and momentum generated in 2014 into profitable growth opportunities in 2015.

Tim Cortes has joined Plug Power as Vice President of Hydrogen. Cortes will oversee the company's GenFuel business, including interactions with customers, partners and suppliers critical to increasing Plug Power's growing market share within the hydrogen fuel industry.

Cortes comes to Plug Power from Smiths Power where he served as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering, responsible for research and development, as well as solutions for global applications. During his tenure at Smiths Power, Cortes, with his proven strength in the acceleration of new product development, led the product line expansion that resulted in a doubling of revenue growth in less than six years.

At Plug Power, Cortes will have full responsibility for the many facets of the company's GenFuel business, which blossomed in 2014. Through efficient and consistent infrastructure deployments at multiple material handling sites, Plug Power validated the advantages of a one-source construction model, while establishing itself as the expert vendor for onsite development of hydrogen delivery, storage and dispensing systems.

Cortes' knowledge of investment planning to drive product development and market penetration will enable Plug Power to more effectively expand implementation of its GenFuel solution within adjacent segments, while maintaining comprehensive support at existing material handling customer sites.

Cortes takes over this business from Erik Hansen, Plug Power's former Vice President of Hydrogen, who resigned. "We welcome Tim to the team and thank Erik for his years of service to Plug Power, helping us grow the GenFuel business to its current position," said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power.

Additionally, Jose Luis Crespo has been promoted to Vice President of Global Sales, a new position for the company. Crespo will assume all responsibilities for the global sales strategy, sales growth and market entry for Plug Power's GenDrive and ReliOn brands.

Crespo joined Plug Power in January of 2014 to lead international sales and business development activity. In his new position, Crespo will add management of the U.S. sales team to his responsibilities and help them build upon 2014's successful sales growth with expanded global opportunities in the material handling industry and other industries such as ground service vehicles.

"2014 marked a turning point for our business with the launch of GenKey, strong sales growth and promising new market initiatives," Marsh said. "These developments set us up for an exciting 2015 and I'm glad to have the leadership of Tim and Jose Luis in these roles to help us to convert this promise into results."

Both executives will report to Marsh.

Plug Power will hold its January business update conference call tomorrow, Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 10:00 am ET. On this call, CEO Andy Marsh and newly appointed CFO Paul Middleton will present a general business status update. The call and webcast can be accessed by phone at 877.407.8291, at www.plugpower.com, selecting the conference call link on the home page, or directly at https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1052716. A playback of the call will be available online for a period following the event.

About Plug Power Inc.

The powerhouse in hydrogen fuel cell technology, Plug Power is revolutionizing the industry with cost-effective solutions that increase productivity, lower operating costs and reduce carbon footprint. Its signature solution, GenKey, provides an all-inclusive package for customers, incorporating GenFuel hydrogen and fueling infrastructure, GenCare aftermarket service and either GenDrive or ReliOn fuel cell systems. GenDrive, a lead-acid battery replacement, is used in electric lift trucks in high-throughput material handling applications. With more than 6,000 GenDrive units deployed to material handling customers, GenDrive has been proven reliable with over 25 million hours of runtime. And, ReliOn is Plug Power's modular, scalable fuel cell for customers seeking solutions in critical stationary power applications. Plug Power ReliOn customers have installed fuel cells at more than 2,500 customer locations globally. Plug Power manufactures tomorrow's incumbent power solutions today, so customers can POWERAhead. Additional information about the Plug Power brands is available 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 that involve significant risks and uncertainties about Plug Power Inc. ("PLUG"), including but not limited to statements about PLUG's forecast of financial performance, order bookings, business model, strategy and growth opportunities. You are cautioned that such statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, such performance or results will have been achieved. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the risk that we continue to incur losses and might never achieve or maintain profitability; the risk that we will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations and such capital may not be available to us; the risk that our lack of extensive experience in manufacturing and marketing products may impact our ability to manufacture and market products on a profitable and large-scale commercial basis; the risk that unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or converted to revenue, in whole or in part; the risk that pending orders may not convert to purchase orders, in whole or in part; the risk that a loss of one or more of our major customers could result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition; the risk that a sale of a significant number of shares of stock could depress the market price of our common stock; the risk that negative publicity related to our business or stock could result in a negative impact on our stock value and profitability; the risk of potential losses related to any product liability claims or contract disputes; the risk of loss related to an inability to maintain an effective system of internal controls or key personnel; the risks related to use of flammable fuels in our products; the cost and timing of developing, marketing and selling our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such costs; the ability to achieve the forecasted gross margin on the sale of our products; the risk that 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 products, including GenDrive, ReliOn and GenKey systems; the volatility of our stock price; 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 successfully expand internationally; our ability to improve system reliability for our GenDrive, ReliOn and GenKey systems; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of complying with current and future federal, state and international governmental regulations; risks associated with potential future acquisitions; and other risks and uncertainties referenced in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by PLUG, see disclosures contained in PLUG's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") including, the "Risk Factors" section of PLUG's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included in this presentation and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and PLUG undertakes no obligation to update such statements as a result of new information.



            

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