AMSC Buys Austrian Wind Turbine Manufacturer

AMSC plans to retain Windtec's operations in Austria and its staff of approximately 35 employees, including Gerald Hehenberger, a 20-year wind industry veteran and the company's sole owner and founder, who will continue to lead Windtec's global business development and sales efforts as vice president and managing director. The transaction includes the acquisition of Hehenberger's 27 patents and patents pending worldwide on wind turbine technology.

"Windtec is capitalizing on a vast unmet need in the market," said Chuck Stankiewicz, Senior Vice President of AMSC Power Systems. "The company's wind turbine designs, including its new SuperGear technology, differentiate it from competing technologies."

Based on existing backlogs and forecasts, AMSC expects Power Electronic Systems revenues, with the inclusion of Windtec, to more than double from approximately $22.5 million in fiscal 2007 to approximately $50 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008.

American Superconductor also announced that it has received a new order from Windtec for PowerModule systems to be used to control power flow in 165 additional wind turbines in China. With this order, AMSC's PowerModule systems will be powering 785 Chinese wind turbine systems and approximately 1,200 megawatts of China's wind generated electricity.