Cinpart’s Active Energy to establish US assembly plant in Summit County, Ohio

Cinpart’s (LON:CINP) 72.2%-owned voltage optimisation business, Active Energy, has selected a suitable location for its US-based assembly plant - the Foreign-Trade Zone 181 in Summit County, Ohio. To support the establishment of the facility, Active Energy has signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with three organisations based in Ohio.

“We believe that by setting up a local distribution network and an assembly plant, we can, in an efficient and cost effective way, service the expected demand for our voltage optimisation products in the USA”, Cinpart chief executive Kevin Baker commented.

The new MoU has been signed with the County of Summit, the Summit County Port Authority and the Northeast Ohio Trade and Economic Consortium.
Under the terms of the MoU, the three parties will assist Active Energy in securing financial incentives and grants related to the set-up of a facility. The three organisations will also promote the sale of the company’s voltage optimisation products in the US market. 

Importantly, Summit County also intends to introduce Active Energy to major public facilities under its control and to other state, county and local authorities and entities throughout the USA.

On 25 June 2010, Active Energy unveiled plans for a major push for its voltage optimization product in the United States, focusing on schools, prisons and other local authority buildings. To this end the company entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with County Executives of America. At that time, Active Energy said it was considering setting up a US-based assembly facility to support the US expansion of the voltage optimisation business.

This earlier MOU envisages County Executives - a non-partisan organization in the United States - helping Cinpart’s subsidiary Active Energy build awareness of its voltage optimization product to local elected officials (mayors, judges, county executives…), who in turn oversee many public facilities, including schools, prisons and hospitals.

"This agreement (announced today) is a natural extension of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with County Executives of America ... We look forward to working closely with Summit County, Summit County Port Authority and Northeast Ohio Trade and Economic Consortium to seek to take advantage of the exciting opportunities available to us in the USA."

Voltage optimisation is a method of reducing electricity consumption by lowering the single-phase voltage that enters a building to 220 volts. It is a particularly effective means of saving energy in the UK because there is a national problem of ‘over-voltage’. Active Energy’s VoltageMaster range of transformers are aimed at helping non-domestic customers save energy. The equipment is designed to be installed in factories, hotels, schools, offices and hospitals save energy. Firstly, it is non-controversial since it is simply a piece of equipment that is installed, out of sight, in a switch room. Secondly, it is largely maintenance free and is designed to work for at least 15 years.
Active Energy’s voltage optimisation technology reduces energy consumption (and therefore CO₂ emissions) of commercial buildings by up to 20% by regulating the voltage of energy entering a building to the optimal level.