Follett Higher Education Group Selects VYCON to Protect New Distribution Center Against Power Disturbances

VYCON Flywheel Technology Contributes to LEED Credits


LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - May 16, 2012) - VYCON (www.vyconenergy.com), a designer and manufacturer of environmentally friendly, high-speed energy storage flywheel systems, today announced that Follett Higher Education Group chose VYCON's flywheel system to protect against power outages at its new state-of-the-art fulfillment and distribution center in Aurora, Ill.

Follett's distribution center features industry-leading technology from Kiva Systems, Inc. to fulfill and deliver an estimated 11 million textbooks and classroom materials. To ensure the robotic handling and computer systems are operational 24/7, power must always be available.

"Because electrical power is vital to our operation, we needed a solution that would protect us against power outages," said Darlene Edwards, facilities management at Follett Higher Education Group. "We were interested in battery-free backup options because it would reduce our cooling costs and help us earn LEED credits."

"For Follett's operations we needed to configure and execute a power protection infrastructure design that was based on high reliability, low maintenance and would advance Follett's sustainability requirements," said Mike Isadore, electrical engineer, Environmental Systems Design (ESD). "Follett had researched and done their homework before moving forward with this environmentally friendly design."

"We're pleased that our VDC-XE flywheel system meets Follett's reliability and sustainability requirements for their state-of-the-art fulfillment center," said Dann McKeraghan, vice president sales and marketing for VYCON. "The elimination of battery maintenance and replacements as well as decreased energy costs will give Follett an attractive total cost of ownership while significantly increasing its power protection reliability and lowering its carbon footprint."

Working seamlessly with three-phase UPS systems, VYCON's VDC-XE (Xtended Energy) supplies up to 300kW of DC power within a single cabinet. For longer run times and higher power capacities, the UL listed VDC models can be easily paralleled without special communications links or control systems for supporting megawatt load applications. If the distribution center experiences an extended power outage, the VDC-XE will provide continuous uninterrupted power while seamlessly transferring to a standby engine generator.

Tested and compatible with all major brands of three-phase UPS systems and available from VYCON's global channel partners, the VDC units feature a 20-year life and minimal maintenance requirements. Featuring optimized power electronics for significantly improved power density, the energy storage systems replace traditional lead-acid backup batteries used with UPS systems -- providing users with a smarter and greener approach to power protection.

For more information on VYCON's flywheel solutions, visit www.vyconenergy.com or call 714-386-3800. To see VYCON's flywheels in action visit VYCON's YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/VYCONEnergy. Follow VYCON on Twitter at www.twitter.com/vyconenergy.

About Follett Higher Education Group
Follett Higher Education Group of Oak Brook, Illinois, is the leading provider of bookstore services and the foremost supplier of used books in North America. Follett services five million students and over 400,000 faculty members through more than 900 stores. Follett also services more than 1,600 independent campus stores with its wholesale services, and has the most visited ecommerce collegiate website, efollett.com, that provides services and products through a network of more than 1,000 campus stores.

About Follett
Follett Corporation is a $2.7 billion, privately-held company that provides products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace. Follett Corporation was founded in 1873, and today is headquartered in River Grove, Illinois.

About VYCON
Founded in 2002, VYCON is an innovator in the design and manufacture of advanced flywheel energy storage systems. VYCON's flywheels are used around the world to provide a highly reliable, cost-effective and "green" energy storage solution for a variety of mission-critical applications. Tested and compatible with three-phase UPS systems from all major UPS companies worldwide, VYCON's patented technology enables its flywheel products to be the most reliable, longest lasting and virtually maintenance free systems on the market today. Recognized as one of America's fastest growing companies on the Inc. 500 list for the past two years, VYCON is a leader in the Power Quality marketplace providing clean uninterrupted power for data centers, healthcare, mobile power, industrial, broadcast and gaming applications.

As a result of VYCON's patented technologies and integration engineering expertise, VYCON's flywheels can be packaged for energy re-cycling applications like port container cranes, traction power in rail as well as for wind power and smart grid energy storage. Key to VYCON's flywheel superiority and dependability is its ability to discharge and recharge frequently and continuously. VYCON's fleet of VDC, VDC-XE and REGEN systems have recorded seven and half million discharge and recharge cycles in very demanding applications.

For more information on VYCON's innovative green power solutions, contact VYCON at 714-386-3800 or visit VYCON's web site at: www.vyconenergy.com.

Contact Information:

Media inquiries:
PJ Jennings
Jennings & Associates Communications, Inc.
pj@JandAcommunications.com
(760) 431-7466

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