Pioneer Power Enters Wind Turbine Industry Through Acquisition

Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB: PPSI), a manufacturer of liquid filled, encapsulated and ventilated transformers for utility, industrial and commercial applications, announced it will acquire certain assets of wind turbine maker AAER Inc. (AAER), which has been strugglig to repay debts.

Under terms of the agreement, Pioneer will acquire most of the Inventory, Capital Assets, Intangible Assets and Intellectual Property of AAER for CDN $450,000 (approximately US $431,500) in cash.

In March, Quebec-based AAER Inc. (AAE.V) announced that it and its U.S. subsidiaries, AAER USA Inc. and Wind-Smart LLC obtained court protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada.

Upon closing, AAER will be renamed Pioneer Wind Energy Systems, Inc. and become a subsidiary of PPSI.

Pioneer will have the ability to produce four separate wind turbines, ranging in size from 1 megawatt (MW) to 1.5 MW.

Nathan Mazurek, Chairman and CEO of Pioneer, said the new company will address smaller wind projects where orders are expected to be in range of 1-5 turbines. "Our goal is to reach an operating run rate of delivering between 50-100 turbines per year within the first three years," he said.

He added taht the wind turbine company will be able to leverage the existing sales efforts with those of PPSI and recently acquired Jefferson Electric.