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Energy Composites Corporation Closes on Land Purchase and Receives Tax-Exempt Bond Facility Approval for WindFibera" Plant

^{Published on 2010-05-18 06:36:21 - Market Wire}
 

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Energy Composites Corporation (aECCa) (NASDAQ:ENCC) a leading provider of composites-based solutions to the clean-tech sector, today announced the completion of its purchase of land for the companya™s WindFibera" blade manufacturing plant in Wisconsin Rapids. The Company also said that it had been notified by the State of Wisconsin Department of Commerce that its application for access to $45 million of tax-exempt coverage under the Statea™s Recovery Zone Bond Program had been approved.

"Our partnership with the City of Wisconsin Rapids, and with Mayor Mary Jo Carson, has been very important to our success"

ECC purchased two parcels in the Rapids East Commerce Center a" a 54-acre parcel that will be the site of the Companya™s new 535,000 square foot utility-scale wind blade manufacturing plant and a 41-acre parcel that will house the Companya™s logistics center. The City of Wisconsin Rapids has site improvements underway, and has committed to at least $7.5 million in development incentives, including site improvements, job creation cash credits and additional cash payments.

Adrian Williams, Director of WindFiber, stated that, aWe are making good progress towards commissioning of our new wind blade plant. Our partnership with the City of Wisconsin Rapids, evidenced by our purchase of the 95-acre parcel, is critical to our efforts to launch the worlda™s most advanced wind blade facility. ECCa™s WindFibera" plant, which is designed to produce as many as 1,500 utility scale wind blades per year for use in onshore and offshore wind farms. The Company expects to start commercial blade production by the end of the first quarter of 2011.

aWe also want to thank the State of Wisconsina™s Department of Commerce for their swift action to approve our application for use of the Statea™s Recovery Zone Bonds facility,a Mancl added. aThe Department approved us for our full request of $45 million in tax-exempt authority, which will allow our lenders to avoid federal taxes on the interest generated by the bonds. This lowers our cost of borrowing and makes it more attractive for our lenders to provide us with the debt portion of the financing package for the new plant. The Recovery Zone Bond program is one element of the Federal stimulus program.a

aOur partnership with the City of Wisconsin Rapids, and with Mayor Mary Jo Carson, has been very important to our success,a Jamie Mancl, ECCa™s founder and President, noted. aOn behalf of all of the associates at ECC, I want to thank the City for its faith in our vision. We are excited with our progress to date. We have narrowed our building contractor selection down, and we believe that the outcome of this competition will deliver a WindFibera" manufacturing plant that is certified Gold under the LEED certification process within the boundaries of our initial cost estimates. We are also making good progress on our logistics facilities, which will include a 50-rail car staging area intended to drive substantial costs-savings to our wind blade clients. From strategic, environmental, logistics and market perspectives, we are fully on track to make Central Wisconsin the epicenter of the composites-in-wind world.a

About Energy Composites Corporation

ECC operates a world-class, automated 73,000 sq. ft. climate-controlled manufacturing facility in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, employing advanced composite materials to design, engineer and manufacture complex composite structures, vessels and processing systems for a range of clean-tech applications that include: wind energy system components, flue gas desulfurization for power plants, infrastructure for biofuel storage and processing, infrastructure for managing waste water and drinking water storage, advanced municipal utilities infrastructure, and caustic material storage and handling systems for the petrochemical, mining and the pulp and paper industries. ECC also provides 24/7 field service crews nationwide for wind energy system composites maintenance, repair and overhaul; industrial retrofit, shutdown and maintenance; system installation; and repair and inspection services. For additional information, visit our website at [ www.energycompositescorp.com ] or contact: Jamie Mancl at 1-800-787-5439.

Certain statements found in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and include any statement that does not directly relate to a current or historical fact. Such statements are generally identifiable by the terminology used, such as aanticipate,a abelieve,a aintend,a aexpect,a aplan,a or other similar words. Our forward-looking statements in this release generally relate to our expectations and beliefs with respect to our growth and expansion activities and plans. Although it is not possible to foresee all of the factors that may cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, such factors include, among others, the following: (i) unforeseen delays, costs or liabilities associated with our growth and expansion plans; (ii) fluctuations in general economic conditions; and (iii) those risks described from time to time in our reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not consider any list of such factors to be an exhaustive statement of all of the risks, uncertainties or potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause our current expectations or beliefs to change. Shareholders and other readers should not place undue reliance on aforward-looking statementsa as such statements speak only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, other than as required by law.