Newsletter #341 (View other news stories)
ECOtality buys Minit-Charger
SCOTTSDALE, AZ, United States
Wednesday, 19 Dec 2007
 The multi-station Minit-Charger system |
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Renewable energy company ECOtality Inc has signed an agreement to acquire the assets and operations of Minit-Charger for USD3 million.
ECOtality says it will combine Minit-Charger’s line of fast chargers for forklifts and materials handling systems with Electric Transportation Engineering Corp (eTec)’s Supercharge line of battery fast chargers for airport ground support equipment to expand the company’s product line and market share.
eTec, an ECOtality subsidiary, will manage the Minit-Charger business after the acquisition.
ECOtality president Jonathan Read says: "The acquisition of Minit-Charger - and our previous acquisition of eTec - exemplifies ECOtality’s strategy to acquire and advance revenue-generating companies with accretive technologies that reduce the environmental impacts of transportation and energy production."
Read adds that ECOtality will explore additional transportation applications for the Minit-Charger and eTec Supercharge technologies.
Don Karner, eTec president, says the company will boost its presence in the battery and fast-charge markets by leveraging synergies between the Minit-Charger and eTec Supercharge technologies.
"We will … aggressively explore and develop additional applications for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle markets and infrastructures."
Minit-Charger, established in 1998, is a subsidiary of Edison International, a NYSE-listed company. It employs 25 people in North America. According to the company, there are more than 1,000 Minit-Charger systems powering over 3,000 forklifts in the US and Canada.
The company has generated over USD40 million in revenues since 1998. In the 12 months ended 30 September 2007, it made revenues of USD5.16 million.
Global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimates the North American industrial fast battery charger market revenues grew 16% from 2005 to 2006 and expects it to grow 17% this year.
ECOtality raised USD1.5 million from institutional investors to fund the Minit-Charger acquisition.
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