Avista Labs and Airgas Sign Hydrogen Marketing Agreement; Airgas to Supply Hydrogen to Avista Labs' Fuel Cell Customers.Business Editors SPOKANE, Wash. & RADNOR, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2002 Avista Labs, a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Avista Corp. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AVA Ava, in the Bible Ava (ā`və), in the Bible, an unidentified city of Mesopotamia, perhaps the same as Ivah. Its inhabitants are called Avites. ) and a leading developer and manufacturer of proton exchange membrane A proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a semipermeable membrane generally made from ionomers and designed to conduct protons while being impermeable to gases such as oxygen or hydrogen. (PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) A standard for secure e-mail on the Internet. It supports encryption, digital signatures and digital certificates as well as both private and public key methods. Not widely used, work on PEM later evolved into S/MIME. See MIME. ) fuel cells, and Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG See argument. arg - argument ), the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, specialty and medical gases, today announced an agreement for Airgas to offer Avista Labs' commercial and industrial fuel cell customers a hydrogen fuel supply. Airgas also will provide Avista Labs' customers with services related to fuel supply, including site preparation and installation, monitoring and fuel replenishment, and safety consultation regarding the storage and use of hydrogen fuel. The agreement, extending through 2005, calls for Avista Labs and Airgas to work together to further develop the market for hydrogen-powered fuel cells in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Airgas' national network includes nearly 800 locations, including 25 facilities currently filling hydrogen cylinders that will be used by Avista Labs fuel cells. Airgas also provides a complete line of specialty gas equipment. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Tom Thoman, vice president-gases for Airgas, "Avista Labs has established a leading position in the fuel cell space by selling commercial products today. Airgas intends to take the lead in hydrogen supply and related services, which we believe will help boost the market acceptance of fuel cells. We see the unique, modular cartridge technology of Avista Labs as the right opportunity to begin this initiative." Mike Davis, Avista Labs CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , stated, "Airgas is the largest U.S. distributor of packaged hydrogen fuel. Their products, including monitoring and operational safety equipment, and expertise in gas distribution are key to the development of a larger market for all hydrogen-powered fuel cells. This agreement will ensure that Avista Labs' fuel cell customers have access to the best available commercial source for hydrogen. We are very pleased to be working with Airgas, as the leader in its business." About Airgas, Inc. Airgas, Inc. (NYSE:ARG) is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety and related products. Its integrated network A network that supports both data and voice and/or different networking protocols. See converged network and new public network. of nearly 800 locations includes branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers. Airgas also distributes its products and services through eBusiness, catalog and telesales channels. Its national scale and strong local presence offer a competitive edge to its diversified customer base. For more information, please visit www.airgas.com. About Avista Avista Labs is a leader in the development and marketing of modular proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The company markets a variety of commercially available fuel cells using its patented Modular Cartridge Technology(TM). Additional company information can be found at www.avistalabs.com. Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is a company operating division that provides electric and natural gas service to customers in four western states. Avista's non-regulated affiliates include Avista Advantage, Avista Labs and Avista Energy. Avista Corp.'s stock is traded under the ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors "AVA" and its Internet address is www.avistacorp.com Avista Corp. and the Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statement forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. for Airgas, Inc. This press release contains statements that are forward-looking, as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995 or by the Securities and Exchange Commission in its rules, regulations and releases. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's agreement with Avista Labs, the growth of the hydrogen-powered fuel cell market, Airgas' intention to take the lead in hydrogen supply and related services, which it believes will increase market acceptance of fuel cells, Airgas' reliance on Avista Labs' technology and Airgas' belief that it will be able to provide Avista Labs' customers with the best available commercial source for hydrogen. Airgas intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. All forward-looking statements are based on current expectations regarding important risk factors and should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that the results expressed therein will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement include the Company's ability to supply a sufficient amount of hydrogen and the related services in a timely manner to Avista Labs' customers, Avista Labs' ability to attract customers who accept hydrogen-powered fuel cells, increased cost pressures; an economic downturn (including adverse changes in the markets in which Avista Labs' customers operate); increased competition; and other factors described in the Company's reports, including Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. dated March 31, 2002 and Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. dated June 30, 2002, filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward Looking Statement for Avista This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2001 and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2002 and June 30, 2002. |
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