BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Nominates James D. Donlon, Sophie Desormiere for Election to Board of Directors
Date : 02/23/2012 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 15.21 -0.18 (-1.17%) @ 5:00PM
Amerigon Nominates James D. Donlon, Sophie Desormiere for Election to Board of Directors To Fill Vacancies Created by Lon E. Bell, James J. Paulsen Resignations to be Effective at 2012 Annual Meeting
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 23, 2012
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, announced today that senior automotive financial executive James D. Donlon, III, and senior automotive product and marketing executive Sophie Desormiere have been nominated for election to its Board of Directors at the Company's 2012 Annual Meeting of stockholders. Donlon and Desormiere will replace Lon E. Bell, Ph.D., founder of Amerigon, and James J. Paulsen, a member of the Board since 1999, who will resign as directors effective immediately prior to the Annual Meeting, which is scheduled for May 10, 2012. The size of the Board remains at eight directors.
Donlon has more than 40 years of experience in the automotive industry, having spent the majority of that time in financial positions with DaimlerChrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Company. Desormiere spent 17 years in product and marketing positions at Valeo, an independent industrial group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for the automotive industry.
Chairman Oscar (Bud) Marx said, "Jim and Sophie have the experience and business acumen that will make them valuable contributors to our Board. Both of them have extensive global automotive experience, and are well-known and respected in U.S. and international business circles. We would also like to thank Lon and Jim for their meritorious service and important contributions. Both Lon and Jim have been very instrumental in Amerigon's success over the past twelve years. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors."
Donlon most recently was CFO of San Diego, CA-based Next Autoworks Company. Prior to that, he spent five years at Troy, MI-based ArvinMentor Corporation where he started as Executive VP – CFO and then was Executive VP – Body and Chassis Operations. From January 1979 to December 2003, he held increasingly responsible financial and operational positions at DaimlerChrysler Corp. and became Senior VP and Controller of the Chrysler Group. He spent 10 years with Ford Motor Company in finance assignments before joining DaimlerChrysler Corp. in 1979.
Donlon received his masters of business administration from the University of Southern California Graduate School of Business and a bachelors degree in business administration from California State University of Fresno. He also earned an honorary doctorate of laws from Walsh College in Troy, MI. He currently resides with his wife in Silverthorne, CO.
Desormiere is currently Group VP Strategic Marketing at Rhodia Headquarters, a France-based company member of the Solvay Group and a world leader in the development and production of specialty chemicals. She began her 17-year tenure with Valeo at Valeo Wiper Systems (VWS) as Quality Production Manager. She held increasingly responsible positions leading to Research & Development Product Line Director at VWS before becoming Branch Marketing Innovation Director at Valeo Climate Control. Desormiere spent her last five years from 2005 to 2010 with Valeo as Group Product Marketing Director and Comfort Enhancement Domain Director.
Desormiere is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Paris, the Institut de Formation du Caoutchouc and the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. She currently resides with her family in Boulogne, France.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon to Present at Upcoming Investment Conferences
Date : 02/07/2012 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 15.55 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:47AM
Amerigon to Present at Upcoming Investment Conferences
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 7, 2012
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, announced today that management is scheduled to make investor presentations at two upcoming investment conferences.
The first conference will be the Deutsche Bank Small & Mid Cap Conference on Tuesday, February 14, during which President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker will make a series of one-on-one and small group presentations throughout the day. The conference is being held February 14-15 at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, South Beach in Miami Beach, FL.
The second conference will be the Pacific Crest Emerging Technology Summit on Wednesday, February 15, during which Chairman Oscar (Bud) Marx is scheduled to present at 2:30 pm Pacific Time. The summit is being held February 14-15, at the Westin San Francisco Market Street in San Francisco. A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available in the Investors section of the Amerigon website at www.amerigon.com.
Marx will also participate on a panel at the summit discussing "New Technologies for Meeting Advanced Transportation Challenges" at 9:00 am Pacific Time. Also in attendance from Amerigon will be Director of Advanced Research Dmitri Kossakovski.
About AmerigonAmerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System to be Offered as Option in 2011 Kia Optima in China
Date : 11/30/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 15.95 0.79 (5.21%) @ 11:30AM
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, today announced that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as a front-seat option in the all-new, mid-size 2011 Kia Optima being sold in China.
In August 2010, Amerigon announced that the heated and ventilated seat system was being offered in the 2011 Kia Optima sold in North America, and today's announcement further expands Amerigon's opportunity for sales of its seat system in the Chinese market.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker noted that the Optima increases the Kia offering of the Company's heated and ventilated seat system in China. The seat system is also available in China on the 2011 Kia Sportage.
"Kia is a valued customer and its offering of our seat system in the new Optima being sold in China underscores an important expansion of our relationship," Coker said. "Amerigon is working very hard to expand its presence in China and we believe the Optima will be very successful in helping increase our penetration of the rapidly growing Chinese market. We expect to continue working closely with Kia to increase our presence in China and other key markets around the world."
In addition to the Kia Optima and Kia Sportage, the Kia Mohave/Borrego also offers Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system. Kia vehicles featuring Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, which delivers active, individually controlled heated or cooled air to seat occupants, include the Kia Opirus/Amanti full-size sedans.
About the Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system combines passive cooling or ventilation with active heating. For cooler environments or more economical vehicle lines, a ventilated seat may be a viable solution, bringing ambient cabin air to the surface instead of the "cooled" air produced by the thermoelectric technology. In the cooling mode, the heater is turned off and the fan provides ambient cabin air to the seat surface. In the heating mode, the vent only system is supplemented with more traditional resistive heating elements. Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system fits within the same envelope as the active CCS system, so multiple Amerigon applications can be installed within or across various vehicle platforms.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Sets Date for 2011 Third Quarter, Nine-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Date : 11/01/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 15.0 -0.34 (-2.22%) @ 9:44AM
Amerigon Sets Date for 2011 Third Quarter, Nine-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Today : Tuesday 1 November 2011
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, will report its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2011, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, and will host a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day.
Conference Call
Toll free dial-in number: 1-888-846-5003
International dial-in number: 1-480-629-9856
Webcast
A live webcast and one year archived replay of the call can be accessed on the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
2011 Hyundai i40 to Feature Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option in Europe
Date : 10/25/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 14.66 0.21 (1.45%) @ 5:35PM
2011 Hyundai i40 to Feature Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option in Europe
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, today announced that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered in Europe as a front-seat option in the all-new, mid-size 2011 Hyundai i40. The Hyundai i40 was designed for the European market and shares its platform with the Hyundai Sonata.
Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system is offered in the 2011 Hyundai Sonata sold in China and Korea, and today's announcement further expands Amerigon's opportunity for sales of its seat system in the European market.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "We continue to make progress with the major Korean automobile manufacturers, and in Europe, which are both major strategic initiatives for Amerigon. This further expands our strong relationship with Hyundai, a company that has been very receptive to our seat systems in a variety of its vehicles."
In addition to the Hyundai i40 and Hyundai Sonata, the Hyundai Tucson and the Hyundai Azera also offer Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system. Hyundai vehicles featuring Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, which delivers active, individually controlled heated or cooled air to seat occupants, include the Hyundai Equus (Korea) and Hyundai Genesis.
About the Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system combines passive cooling or ventilation with active heating. For cooler environments or more economical vehicle lines, a ventilated seat may be a viable solution, bringing ambient cabin air to the surface instead of the "cooled" air produced by the thermoelectric technology. In the cooling mode, the heater is turned off and the fan provides ambient cabin air to the seat surface. In the heating mode, the vent only system is supplemented with more traditional resistive heating elements. Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system fits within the same envelope as the active CCS system, so multiple Amerigon applications can be installed within or across various vehicle platforms.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact: Allen & Caron IncJill Bertotti (investors)jill@allencaron.comLen Hall (media)len@allencaron.com(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Heated and Cooled Dual Cup Holder Available for 2011 Chrysler 300
Date : 09/20/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 13.24 0.17 (1.30%) @ 4:26PM
Amerigon Heated and Cooled Dual Cup Holder Available for 2011 Chrysler 300
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, today announced that its proprietary heated and cooled cup holder is available as an option for the all-new 2011 Chrysler 300 full-size luxury sedan. This is the second Chrysler Group LLC vehicle to offer the Amerigon cup holder since it was launched at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. The company first began offering Amerigon's cup holder in the 2011 Dodge Charger. The dual cup holder, like Amerigon's popular heated and cooled Climate Control Seat® System (CCS®), is based on the Company's advanced thermoelectric technology.
Much like the seat system, the dual cup holder provides separate temperature settings in each holder allowing the driver and passenger to individually maintain the temperature in a heated and cooled beverage. The cup holder requires low power consumption and incorporates proven automotive grade, ruggedness, high reliability and drink retention features.
President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "The cup holder has been well received in the marketplace since last year's launch and its introduction in the 2011 Chrysler 300 is an important expansion of our relationship with Chrysler Group.
"We believe the thermal technologies being developed by Amerigon will further diversify our portfolio of automotive products," added Coker. "The heated and cooled cup holder has the potential over time to be a high volume product for us."
Amerigon is the world's largest supplier of thermoelectric technologies in the global automotive market with more than 7.9 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon to Present at the RBC Capital Markets Global Industrials Conference
Date : 09/14/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 12.46 0.0 (0.00%) @ 7:49AM
Amerigon to Present at the RBC Capital Markets Global Industrials Conference
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, announced today that President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker is scheduled to make an investor presentation at the RBC Capital Markets Global Industrials Conference on Tuesday, September 20, at 2:10 pm Pacific Time. The conference is being held September 20-21 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.
A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available in the Investors section of the Amerigon website at www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon, W.E.T. Automotive Systems to Discuss Technology Innovations at Frankfurt International Auto Show
Date : 09/08/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 13.11 0.14 (1.08%) @ 11:13AM
Amerigon, W.E.T. Automotive Systems to Discuss Technology Innovations at Frankfurt International Auto Show
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) and W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG (listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange) announced today that they will make their first joint presentation at the Frankfurt International Auto Show (IAA) Sept. 13-16 in Frankfurt, Germany. Amerigon is the world's largest developer and marketer of thermoelectric technologies in the automotive market. W.E.T. is a global leader in seat heating and a developer and supplier of climate comfort systems and other electronic components for the automotive industry. Both companies will present their latest developments at a joint booth (Hall 4.1, Booth 23) and host a press conference at 10:30 a.m. CET Sept. 14 in Room Illusion at the Congress Center Messe Frankfurt (CMF).
At the press conference, Daniel R. Coker, President and CEO of Amerigon, and Caspar Baumhauer, CEO of W.E.T. Automotive Systems, will present the companies' joint important advances in energy efficiency in passenger cars, including hybrid and electric vehicles, and climate comfort technologies for passengers. A highlight of the presentation will be Amerigon's innovative thermoelectric generator, created in partnership with BMW of North America, Ford and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), that converts vehicle waste heat to electricity and offers fuel economy and a reduction of toxic emissions, including carbon dioxide gas. Amerigon's acquisition of W.E.T. will also be a topic of the press conference.
"The cooperation of Amerigon and W.E.T Automotive Systems permits a true global reach at the forefront of a variety of thermal management innovations for the automotive industry, and other industries as well," Coker said. "The merging of our respective innovative capabilities will enable us to become an even more competitive supplier in the very demanding and quickly evolving global automotive industry. Recent advancements in hybrid and electric vehicle technologies, government mandates on toxic emissions and greater customer demand for efficient vehicles all underscore the need for the kinds of thermal management solutions that our two companies have already proved they can produce."
Amerigon recently announced that it has been awarded an $8 million grant from the DOE to lead the development of an energy recovery system that can improve passenger car fuel efficiency by five percent by converting waste heat from gas exhaust into electric power using a thermoelectric generator. Amerigon is sharing the $8 million grant with its project partners including Ford, BMW of North America and Faurecia Emissions Controls Technologies.
"Waste vehicle heat has been, until now, an untapped source of electricity," Coker added. "With the rapidly increasing demands for electricity in modern vehicles, the potential for our thermoelectric generator that uses the readily available heat in vehicle exhaust is enormous."
Baumhauer pointed out, "In the last years, W.E.T. was able to strengthen its position as world market leader for thermal comfort products in automotive seating. We develop and deliver today to more than 380 different car platforms from our customer service centers and manufacturing locations in North America, Asia and Europe. Our products are featured in more than 70 different automotive brands. We are convinced that by combining W.E.T.'s operational capabilities and technologies with the cutting edge innovations of Amerigon in thermoelectric technology we will enter the next phase of profitable growth for our company."
About Amerigon and W.E.T.
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) and W.E.T. Automotive Systems (listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange) develop and market innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products include thermoelectric-based heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Amerigon's advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. The two companies have an aggregate amount of annual revenues of $500 million and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com and www.wet-group.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause Amerigon's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of Amerigon's common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Names Former Ford, Magna Executive Carlos E. Mazzorin to Board of Directors
Date : 08/24/2011 @ 1:39PM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 12.68 -0.06 (-0.47%) @ 2:07PM
Amerigon Names Former Ford, Magna Executive Carlos E. Mazzorin to Board of Directors
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, today announced that senior automotive executive Carlos E. Mazzorin has been named to its Board of Directors, effective August 24, 2011. In addition, the Board has voted to increase its size from seven to eight directors with Mazzorin filling the vacancy created by the increase.
Mazzorin, 69, has more than 40 years of experience in the automotive industry, having worked at General Motors Corporation and Ford Motor Company in progressively responsible Supply Chain and operations management positions. He retired from Ford in 2002 after 30 years of service at which time he held the position of Group Vice President of South America and Asia Pacific Operations and Global Purchasing.
Amerigon Chairman Oscar B. (Bud) Marx said, "Carlos is an exceptional addition to our Board, and his counsel and participation will be extremely valuable. I had the pleasure of working with Carlos in the past while we were both at Ford so I know first-hand the quality and value of the contributions he can bring to our Board and to Amerigon. He has extensive experience in the automotive industry, and is well-known and respected in U.S. and international business circles."
Mazzorin most recently spent eight years at Ontario, Canada-based Magna International. From 2007 to 2010, Mazzorin served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Magna Electronics, Inc. Prior to that, beginning in 2002, he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Magna Mirrors.
Mazzorin currently serves on the Boards of Directors of two privately-held companies, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), a world leader in the design, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of motorized recreational vehicles and powersports engines, and Management Engineers Consulting.
Mazzorin graduated from General Motors Institute of Technology (today Kettering University) after completing a two year supply chain studies program. He also completed Business Administration studies in the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He currently resides with his wife in Bloomfield Hills, MI.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Grant to Develop Thermoelectric-Based Energy Recovery System to Improve Passenger ...
Date : 08/17/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 13.34 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:00AM
Amerigon Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Grant to Develop Thermoelectric-Based Energy Recovery System to Improve Passenger
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications, today announced that it has been awarded an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to lead the development of an energy recovery system that can improve passenger car fuel efficiency by five percent by converting waste heat from gas exhaust into electric power using a thermoelectric generator.
The grant is part of $175 million in DOE awards for 40 projects to accelerate advanced vehicle research and development. Amerigon will share the $8 million grant with its project partners including Ford, BMW of North America, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)/California Institute of Technology, and Faurecia Emissions Controls Technologies.
The project, to be completed in four years, will also specify how the new energy recovery system can be successfully commercialized "on the scale needed to positively impact the reduction of greenhouse gasses," according to the DOE grant.
Amerigon is the world's largest supplier of thermoelectric technologies in the global automotive market and a leader in the conversion of waste heat into electric power in automobiles. Amerigon began working on DOE-funded thermoelectric projects in 2005 by leading a multi-phase project to develop and evaluate a system for waste heat recovery in BMW and Ford vehicles. This new DOE-funded project builds upon the success of that program which is nearing completion.
President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said that creating passenger car fuel efficiency has always been among Amerigon's goals in its far-reaching development of thermoelectric technology. Amerigon is best known for its Climate Control Seat® System that uses thermoelectric technology to actively heat and cool seats in vehicles made by the world's leading automotive manufacturers.
"We believe our thermoelectric technology will demonstrate important advances in energy efficiency in passenger cars, which will also cut down on the emissions of harmful environmental pollutants such as carbon dioxide gas," Coker added.
"Over the last several years, we have worked very closely with the Department of Energy and our other partners in the development of a fully functional thermoelectric generator," Coker said. "We believe we can build on our recent technical achievement of delivering to BMW and Ford working prototypes of the generator that are currently producing a significant amount of electricity. With this new round of DOE funding, Amerigon and our partners will begin to address the manufacturability and commercialization of this potentially breakthrough technology."
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products based on Amerigon technologies include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. Its advanced technology team is developing more efficient materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that also have far-reaching applications for consumer products as well as industrial and technology markets. Amerigon has $500 million in annual revenues and 5,000 employees in facilities in the U.S., Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea and the Ukraine. For more information, go to www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Sets Date for 2011 Second Quarter, Six-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Date : 08/02/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 17.11 0.29 (1.72%) @ 6:06PM
Amerigon Sets Date for 2011 Second Quarter, Six-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, will report its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2011, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, August 9, 2011, and will host a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day.
Conference Call
Toll free dial-in number: 1-877-941-2321
International dial-in number: 1-480-629-9809
Webcast
A live webcast and one year archived replay of the call can be accessed on the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Announces Number of Shares of W.E.T. Automotive Systems Tendered During Additional Acceptance Period
Date : 06/01/2011 @ 8:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 16.8 0.17 (1.02%) @ 9:51AM
Amerigon Announces Number of Shares of W.E.T. Automotive Systems Tendered During Additional Acceptance Period
Today : Wednesday 1 June 2011
Click Here for more Amerigon Incorporated (MM) Charts.
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that the additional acceptance period with respect to its previously-announced tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG, a German company, ended on May 26, 2011, and that 2,903 additional shares were tendered during such period. Combined with the shares tendered during the initial acceptance period, a total of 2,319,078 shares, representing 76.29 percent of the outstanding voting stock of W.E.T., have been tendered for sale to Amerigon. The shares tendered during the initial acceptance period were acquired by Amerigon on May 16, 2011. Amerigon expects to close on the acquisition of the shares tendered during the additional acceptance period within a week.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
About W.E.T.
W.E.T. is a global leader in the automotive industry, with a particular focus on thermal seat comfort. Established in 1968 and headquartered in Odelzhausen, near Munich, Germany, the company operates facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. For more information, please visit W.E.T.'s website at www.wet-group.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact: Allen & Caron IncJill Bertotti (investors)jill@allencaron.comLen Hall (media)len@allencaron.com(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Announces Completion of Acquisition of a Majority Interest in W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Date : 05/16/2011 @ 8:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 16.75 0.12 (0.72%) @ 10:09AM
Amerigon Announces Completion of Acquisition of a Majority Interest in W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Monday 16 May 2011
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Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ: ARGN) today announced that it has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amerigon Europe GmbH, completed the previously announced acquisition of a majority interest in W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG, a German company ("W.E.T."). A total of 2,316,175 shares, representing 76.19 percent of the outstanding voting stock of W.E.T., was tendered to Amerigon in response to Amerigon's offer of EUR 40 per share.
Shareholders of W.E.T. who have not tendered their shares have an additional period, ending on May 26, 2011, to accept Amerigon's tender offer. The acquisition of any shares tendered during this additional period is expected to be completed at the beginning of June 2011.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
About W.E.T.
W.E.T. is a global leader in the automotive industry, with a particular focus on thermal seat comfort. Established in 1968 and headquartered in Odelzhausen, near Munich, Germany, the company operates facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. For more information, please visit W.E.T.'s website at www.wet-group.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
13 years ago
Amerigon Announces Number of Shares Tendered in Acquisition of W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Date : 05/12/2011 @ 8:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 17.2 0.2 (1.18%) @ 2:16PM
Amerigon Announces Number of Shares Tendered in Acquisition of W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 12 May 2011
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Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that the initial acceptance period with respect to its previously-announced tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG, a German company, ended on May 9, 2011, and that 2,316,175 shares, representing 76.19 percent of the outstanding voting stock of W.E.T., have been tendered for sale. An additional acceptance period will begin on May 13, 2011, providing the remaining shareholders of W.E.T. an opportunity to tender their shares. Such additional acceptance period will expire near the end of May, 2011. Amerigon expects to close on the acquisition of the shares tendered during the initial acceptance period within a week.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
About W.E.T.
W.E.T. is a global leader in the automotive industry, with a particular focus on thermal seat comfort. Established in 1968 and headquartered in Odelzhausen, near Munich, Germany, the company operates facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. For more information, please visit W.E.T.'s website at www.wet-group.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2011, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Announces Expiration of Hart-Scott-Rodino Waiting Period for Its Acquisition of W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Date : 05/03/2011 @ 8:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 16.8 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:29AM
Amerigon Announces Expiration of Hart-Scott-Rodino Waiting Period for Its Acquisition of W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) ("Amerigon") today announced that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the "HSR Act"), relating to Amerigon's previously announced acquisition of a majority of the voting shares of W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG, a German company ("W.E.T."), has expired without further action by the Federal Trade Commission, thereby satisfying a condition of closing of the transaction. Amerigon and W.E.T. have also received regulatory approval from the Ukraine, which was also a condition to closing the transaction.
Amerigon has launched a tender offer for all of the voting shares of W.E.T. Pursuant to the previously announced agreement between Amerigon and the holders of 75.6 percent of W.E.T.'s voting shares, those shares will be sold to Amerigon under the tender offer. The initial acceptance period under the tender offer expires on May 9, 2011. An additional acceptance period will follow and closing is presently expected to occur at the beginning of June 2011.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
About W.E.T.
W.E.T. is a global leader in the automotive industry, with a particular focus on thermal seat comfort. Established in 1968 and headquartered in Odelzhausen, near Munich, Germany, the company operates facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. For more information, please visit W.E.T.'s website at www.wet-group.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2011 and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Reports 2011 First Quarter Results
Date : 04/28/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 15.2 0.0 (0.00%) @ 7:01AM
Amerigon Reports 2011 First Quarter Results
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 28 April 2011
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Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced record quarterly revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, with year-over-year gains in gross margins, and commented on the status of the proposed acquisition of W.E.T. Automotive Systems (W.E.T.).
Product revenues for this year's first quarter were up 48 percent to a record $35.8 million from $24.2 million in the prior year period. The increase in revenues was primarily driven by new model introductions offering the Company's Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) systems and a much improved automotive marketplace resulting in higher vehicle production levels on existing vehicles. The Company's first significant shipments of its new heated and cooled cup holder, which was launched at the end of the 2010 fourth quarter, and modest shipments of the Company's TE technology used in a new suite of actively heated and cooled luxury mattresses, which was launched at the end of the 2010 third quarter, also contributed to higher product revenue levels. CCS systems include both TE-based heated and cooled systems and heated and ventilated seat systems.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "We had a strong start to what promises to be a transformative year for Amerigon. We are benefiting from the recovery of global automotive production levels. Our seat systems remain popular with consumers as evidenced by continued strong take rates. The fact that we are now in 54 automobile models gives us a broad base to drive revenues. By the end of the year, we also expect other applications of our technology like our cup holder and mattress system to add more substantially to our revenue total."
Coker added that the proposed acquisition of W.E.T., a publicly-traded German automotive electronic components company, continued to be in progress. On March 31, 2011, the Company completed an offering of its Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and entered into a new syndicated credit facility in order to provide sufficient funding for the proposed acquisition. On April 11, 2011, the Company launched a tender offer for all of the voting shares of W.E.T. Pursuant to the previously announced agreement between Amerigon and the holders of 75.6 percent of W.E.T.'s voting shares, those shares will be sold to Amerigon under the tender offer. The initial acceptance period under the tender offer expires on May 9, 2011. The acquisition is contingent upon final review by the appropriate regulatory authorities.
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the first quarter of this year was 29.2 percent compared with 27.5 percent in the first quarter of 2010. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to a favorable shift in the mix of products sold and higher coverage of fixed cost at the higher volume levels.
Associated with the proposed acquisition of W.E.T., Amerigon recorded one-time fees and expenses (not deductible for current tax purposes) totaling $3.8 million, or $0.17 per basic and $0.16 per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2011. As a result, the Company reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2011 of $666,000, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share, compared with net income in the year-earlier period of $1.7 million, or $0.08 per basic share and $0.07 per diluted share. Excluding this one-time charge, net income for this year's first quarter was $3.1 million, or $0.14 per basic and $0.13 per diluted share, on an adjusted basis as follows:
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BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon to Present at the ROTH OC Growth Stock Conference in Dana Point, CA
Date : 03/07/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 14.66 -0.4 (-2.66%) @ 8:00PM
Amerigon to Present at the ROTH OC Growth Stock Conference in Dana Point, CA
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Monday 7 March 2011
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that management is scheduled to make an investor presentation at the ROTH 23rd Annual OC Growth Stock Conference on Monday, March 14, at 9:00 am Pacific Time. The conference is being held March 13-16, at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, CA.
The presentation will be accessible by live webcast on the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: www.amerigon.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Amerigon website for 30 days.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS:ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit Amerigon's website at www.amerigon.com.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Announces Agreement to Acquire a Majority Interest in W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Date : 02/28/2011 @ 8:08AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 11.58 0.0 (0.00%) @ 7:51AM
Amerigon Announces Agreement to Acquire a Majority Interest in W.E.T. Automotive Systems
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Monday 28 February 2011
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN) ("Amerigon" or the "Company") today announced that it had entered into a purchase agreement with shareholders representing 75.6 percent of the voting shares of W.E.T. Automotive Systems (W.E.T.), a publicly-traded German company located in Odelzhausen, Germany. Under the terms of the agreement, Amerigon would purchase all of the shares held by such shareholders at a price of euro 40 per share (or $55 per share at a euro/$1.37 exchange rate). Concurrent with such transaction, Amerigon intends to launch a tender offer for the remaining voting shares of W.E.T. at the same price. Based on the 3,040,000 voting shares in W.E.T. presently outstanding, the transaction would value W.E.T. at euro 121.6 million (or $166.6 million at a euro/$1.37 exchange rate). W.E.T.'s reported worldwide revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010 were approximately euro 227 million (or $311 million at a euro/$1.37 exchange rate).
The closing of the share acquisition under the purchase agreement is contingent upon, among other things, Amerigon securing all necessary financing, including with respect to the tender offer, and providing the German Financial Supervisory Authority with documentation of such financing, as required by German law. The agreement is further contingent upon receiving all necessary approvals by the appropriate regulatory authorities in the countries where Amerigon and W.E.T. operate. The euro 40 price for W.E.T. shares is a 52 percent premium over a volume-weighted average trading price of W.E.T.'s shares over the past three months of euro 26. The purchase agreement and the planned tender offer have the approval of the Supervisory Board of W.E.T. and of its Management Board.
Amerigon and W.E.T. are presently engaged in lawsuits concerning intellectual property. They have agreed to jointly apply to the applicable court for a temporary suspension of proceedings pending successful completion of the acquisition.
Daniel R. Coker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amerigon, said, "W.E.T. is an outstanding company with a strong global presence. We believe that the two companies, with their respective strengths and working together, will be an even more responsive supplier to their customers and an even more effective developer of new products incorporating their respective technologies."
Caspar Baumhauer, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Management Board of W.E.T., stated, "The Management Board and the Supervisory Board support the Amerigon tender offer as being in the best interests of W.E.T. and its shareholders. The complementarity of the two companies' business models and their respective business strengths will enable us to become an even more competitive supplier in the very demanding global automotive industry."
The closings of the acquisitions under the purchase agreement and the tender offer are expected to take place at the beginning of the second quarter of 2011. Assuming successful completion of such transactions, previous revenue and earnings guidance given by Amerigon is no longer applicable and no revised guidance can be offered at this time.
About Amerigon
Amerigon develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit Amerigon's website at www.amerigon.com.
About W.E.T.
W.E.T. is a global leader in the automotive industry, with a particular focus on thermal seat comfort. Established in 1968 and headquartered in Odelzhausen, near Munich, Germany, the company operates facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. For more information, please visit W.E.T.'s website at www.wet-group.com
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Reports 2010 Fourth Quarter, Year-End Results
Date : 02/17/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 11.17 0.15 (1.36%) @ 4:56PM
Amerigon Reports 2010 Fourth Quarter, Year-End Results
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 17 February 2011
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced record annual revenues and profit for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Product revenues for 2010 were up 84 percent to a record $112.4 million from $60.9 million in 2009. The increase in revenues was primarily driven by a much improved automotive marketplace resulting in higher vehicle production levels on existing vehicles offering the Company's Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) systems, new model introductions, and the full year effect of the addition of a rear seat option on certain existing vehicles. Modest initial shipments of the Company's TE technology used in a new suite of actively heated and cooled luxury mattresses, which was launched at the end of the third quarter, and the Company's new heated and cooled cup holder, which was launched at the end of the fourth quarter, also contributed to higher product revenue levels. CCS systems include both TE-based heated and cooled systems and heated and ventilated seat systems.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "During 2010, global automotive production continued the recovery that began in the second half of 2009. Global automotive production in 2010 was up 23 percent year over year and up a respective 39 percent and 19 percent in North America and the Japan/Korea region, which are markets where vehicle production is a primary driver of our revenue. We are very pleased we exceeded the growth rates of the market, which was largely due to the increase in the number of vehicles offering our heated and cooled seat systems. We expect that global automotive production will again increase during 2011, but at a slower rate. With that said, we are optimistic about prospects for continued strong growth in 2011 and beyond."
Production of light vehicles in North America increased to 11.9 million during 2010 from 8.6 million during 2009. Expanding into new regional markets with the Company's seat systems continues to be a priority, added Coker. To build a stronger presence in Europe, Amerigon opened a technical support office during 2010 in Augsburg, Germany.
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for 2010 was 29 percent compared with 26 percent in 2009. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to a favorable shift in the mix of products sold, lower raw material costs and higher coverage of fixed cost at the higher volume levels.
Net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated for 2010 was a record $10.0 million, or $0.46 per basic share and $0.44 per diluted share, compared with net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated in 2009 of $723,000, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share.
The Company recorded an income tax expense of $2.9 million during 2010. This amount included an adjustment to deferred tax asset valuation allowance which lowered income tax expense by $1.4 million. This adjustment reflects a change in the amount of Federal Net Operating Losses that are limited due to a 1999 change in control. During 2009, Amerigon recorded an income tax expense totaling $325,000.
For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010, product revenues increased to $28.9 million, up 34 percent from $21.6 million in the prior year period. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the 2010 fourth quarter was 30 percent compared with 29 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated for the 2010 fourth quarter was $3.3 million, or $0.15 per basic and diluted share, compared with net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated in the prior year period of $1.4 million, or $0.07 per basic share and $0.06 per diluted share.
Amerigon's proprietary heated and cooled cup holder made its debut at the end of 2010 in the 2011 Dodge Charger. The dual cup holder, which provides separate temperature settings in each holder allowing the driver and passenger to individually maintain a heated or cooled beverage, requires low power consumption and incorporates proven automotive grade ruggedness, reliability and drink retention features. The Company anticipates that at least one additional vehicle will adopt this product in 2011.
The Company entered into the next major market arena outside automotive seating for its TE technology with the September launch by Mattress Firm, Inc., one of the nation's leading specialty mattress retailers with more than 580 locations across 22 states, of a new suite of actively heated and cooled luxury mattresses sold under the YuMe™ brand. The mattress, which uses Amerigon's Climate Control Sleep System™ technology to actively heat and cool each side of the mattress independently via two wireless remotes, is currently available in retail locations in Austin, Texas, and was successfully unveiled with initial units sold at the State Fair of Texas which took place September 24 through October 17.
Coker added, "While CCS is currently our only high volume product, we expect the heated and cooled cup holder and heated and cooled mattress will begin to contribute more meaningful product revenues during 2011."
The Company continues to work towards expanding its TE technology to other major market arenas. The Company's objective is for its unique technology to occupy an important place in the value chain of a new class of solid state energy conversion systems that replace existing electromechanical devices in a number of potentially large market sectors, including other automotive applications, stationary temperature management, aerospace and defense, individual comfort, waste heat harvesting and primary power generation.
The Company's balance sheet as of December 31, 2010, strengthened with total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $36.3 million, total assets of $79.4 million, no bank debt and shareholders' equity of $57.5 million.
CCS systems are currently offered as an optional or standard feature on 54 automobile models produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and Jaguar/Land Rover. New vehicles equipped with CCS systems and launched during 2010 included the Ford F-250, Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX56, Nissan Patrol, Kia Sonata, Kia Sportage, Kia Optima, Hyundai Tucson and the Hyundai Veracruz.
Unit shipments of CCS systems for the 2010 fourth quarter and year were 411,000 and 1.6 million, respectively, compared with 309,000 and 874,000 units for the year-earlier periods. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had shipped more than 6.9 million CCS units to customers since 2000.
The 2010 fourth quarter and full year results include a year-over-year increase in net research and development expenses of $1.3 million and $3.7 million, respectively, primarily due to the advanced TE materials program at the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, ZT Plus. In March 2010, Amerigon purchased all of its partner's 50 percent interest of ZT Plus and became the 100 percent owner of that operation. The Company's research and development efforts have resulted in the development of new products, such as the heated and cooled mattress and heated and cooled cup holder. The Company is also developing new products, including a cold storage box and an improved CCS system. The costs associated with research and development projects increased during 2010 as several of the projects reached the commercial launch phase of development.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the 2010 fourth quarter and full year increased $968,000 and $2.1 million, respectively, due primarily to the opening of a technical support office in Augsburg, Germany, and an increase in the number of sales and marketing employees. The Company increased its resources in order to support increased selling activities in South Korea, Europe and China. During the 2010 fourth quarter, Amerigon recorded a reserve of $607,000 for a patent lawsuit that is ongoing with a competitor, compared with $500,000 in the prior year period.
Guidance
The Company expects product revenues in the 2011 first quarter to be up slightly compared with the 2010 fourth quarter, representing a significant increase from the 2010 first quarter product revenues of $24.2 million.
Conference Call
As previously announced, Amerigon is conducting a conference call today to be broadcast live over the Internet at 11:30 AM Eastern Time to review these financial results. The dial-in number for the call is 1-877-941-1429. The live webcast and archived replay of the call can be accessed in the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 Fourth Quarter, Year-End Results Release and Conference Call
Date : 02/11/2011 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 11.19 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:07AM
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 Fourth Quarter, Year-End Results Release and Conference Call
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Friday 11 February 2011
Click Here for more Amerigon Incorporated (MM) Charts.
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, will report its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, February 17, 2011, and will host a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day.
Conference Call
Toll free dial-in number: 1-877-941-1429
International dial-in number: 1-480-629-9666
Webcast
A live webcast and one year archived replay of the call can be accessed on the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Announces Changes in BSST Subsidiary Ownership Resulting From December 31 Retirement of Dr. Lon Bell
Date : 01/04/2011 @ 2:04PM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.53 -0.55 (-4.96%) @ 2:34PM
Amerigon Announces Changes in BSST Subsidiary Ownership Resulting From December 31 Retirement of Dr. Lon Bell
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Tuesday 4 January 2011
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that it has acquired the 15 percent minority interest in its technology development subsidiary, BSST LLC, plus the reversionary rights to the technology previously owned by Dr. Lon Bell, former Chief Technical Officer of Amerigon and former President of BSST. The transaction, effective December 31, 2010, involved a cash payment of approximately $3.4 million for Dr. Bell's BSST membership interest and Dr. Bell's reversionary rights. BSST becomes a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Amerigon, Inc. Dr. Bell, who retired on December 31, 2010, is currently a consultant to Amerigon and remains a member of the Board of Directors.
Amerigon Chairman Oscar B. (Bud) Marx commented, "With Dr. Bell's retirement, we made the decision to unify the ownership of BSST under Amerigon and to solidify our rights to its technology. We expect no change in our strategy of developing advanced TE applications for both automotive and other commercial/industrial applications. We are pleased that Dr. Bell has agreed to assist us as a consultant in our future development efforts and will continue to serve on our Board."
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Launches Heated and Cooled Dual Cup Holder in 2011 Dodge Charger
Date : 12/23/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 11.23 -0.16 (-1.40%) @ 10:12AM
Amerigon Launches Heated and Cooled Dual Cup Holder in 2011 Dodge Charger
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 23 December 2010
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its new proprietary heated and cooled cup holder will debut in a 2011 Dodge Charger, marking the first time an Amerigon product has been featured in a vehicle built by Chrysler and the first vehicle to offer the Amerigon cup holder. The dual cup holder, like Amerigon's popular heated and cooled Climate Control Seat® System (CCS®), is based on the Company's advanced TE technology.
Much like the seat system, the dual cup holder provides separate temperature settings in each holder allowing the driver and passenger to individually maintain a heated or cooled beverage. The cup holder requires low power consumption and incorporates proven automotive grade ruggedness, reliability and drink retention features.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "The commercial launch of our heated and cooled cup holder marks two important and exciting milestones for Amerigon. First, this is our debut product with Chrysler, a historic and respected car maker with a brand known literally around the world. Second, the 2011 Dodge is the first vehicle to offer our cup holder, another natural application of our thermoelectric technology. We believe the thermoelectric technologies we are developing at Amerigon have a great number of unique commercial applications that will be successful in the marketplace."
Amerigon is the largest supplier of TE systems for cars with more than 6.5 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold. A total of 49 vehicles feature the CCS system including those manufactured by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and Tata Motors.
Thermoelectric Technology
Thermoelectric technology relates to the direct conversion of electrical current to thermal energy (Peltier effect) or the direct conversion of heat differentials to electric current (Seebeck effect). Advanced TEs are more environmentally friendly than conventional compressed gas systems, less complex because they have no moving parts, more compact and lighter in weight. A single TE device provides both heating and cooling in Amerigon's automotive applications.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) System Selected as Option for All-New 2011 Ford Explorer
Date : 11/02/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.7 0.0 (0.00%) @ 9:28AM
Amerigon Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) System Selected as Option for All-New 2011 Ford Explorer
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Tuesday 2 November 2010
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system has been selected for the all-new 2011 Ford Explorer, a mid-size Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV). The heated and cooled seat system is included in the luxury seating package for the front seats of the Limited model.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "Offering luxury technologies like our heated and cooled seat system to make life on the road more comfortable year round is an important value creator and product differentiator with proven appeal to consumers. We believe our seat system will continue to be a popular and highly requested feature as it has in other broadly recognized Ford vehicles. We have a long-standing partnership with Ford and are pleased to have our technology offered in this successful vehicle line."
Other vehicles from Ford that offer CCS include the Ford Expedition, Ford Taurus, Ford F-150 Truck and Ford F-250 Truck.
About CCS
In the CCS system, which is built around Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device, air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to electronic switch input from the seat occupant. The conditioned air circulates by a specially designed fan through ducts in the seat cushion and seat back, resulting in a surface that can be heated or cooled. Each seat has individual electronic controls to adjust the level of heating or cooling. CCS substantially improves comfort compared with conventional air conditioners by focusing the cooling directly on the passenger through the seat, rather than waiting until ambient air cools the seat surface behind the passenger.
Amerigon is the largest supplier of TE systems for cars, with more than 6.5 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 Third Quarter, Nine-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Date : 10/20/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 9.94 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:06AM
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 Third Quarter, Nine-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Wednesday 20 October 2010
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and applications, will report its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, and will host a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day.
Conference Call
Toll free dial-in number: 1-877-941-1429
International dial-in number: 1-480-629-9666
Webcast
A live webcast and one year archived replay of the call can be accessed on the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Establishes European Headquarters in Augsburg, Germany
Date : 10/07/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.32 -0.23 (-2.18%) @ 5:00PM
Amerigon Establishes European Headquarters in Augsburg, Germany
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 7 October 2010
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today the opening of a technical support office in Augsburg, Germany, to provide design initiatives, product development, application engineering and prototype builds in support of European sales. The Company is headquartered in Southeast Michigan, and also maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Japan, England and Korea. The Augsburg office, which will serve as the European headquarters and further enhances Amerigon's presence in Europe, will be headed by Marco Ranalli, Managing Director Amerigon Europe GmbH.
Prior to joining Amerigon, Ranalli was Director Global Advanced Engineering at EMCON Technologies, now part of Faurecia, an automotive equipment supplier of automotive seating, emissions control technologies, interior systems and automotive exteriors.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "Expanding into new regional markets with our highly successful seat systems continues to be a goal of ours. It is our intention to have a stronger presence in Europe, so the opening of this office will help us further establish and expand our relationships with a number of key European automotive manufacturers."
Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat™ (CCS™) systems are currently offered as an optional or standard feature on 49 vehicle lines produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Jaguar/Land Rover.
About CCS
In the CCS system, which is built around Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device, air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to electronic switch input from the seat occupant. The conditioned air circulates by a specially designed fan through ducts in the seat cushion and seat back, resulting in a surface that can be heated or cooled. Each seat has individual electronic controls to adjust the level of heating or cooling. CCS substantially improves comfort compared with conventional air conditioners by focusing the cooling directly on the passenger through the seat, rather than waiting until ambient air cools the seat surface behind the passenger.
Amerigon is the largest supplier of TE systems for cars, with more than 6.1 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
YuMe™ Climate Control Bed
The YuMe™ bed, exclusively at Mattress Firm, is a revolutionary sleep system that heats and cools, helping you sleep better and more comfortable. YuMe™ is the result of combining proven, reliable technology with premium luxury bedding.
* 11" Pre-Conditioned Support Core
* 1" Premium Coconut Foam
* Removable, Replaceable Cover
* Antimicrobial Treatment of Foams and Fabrics
* Four Thermoelectric Heating & Cooling Elements
* Comes With a 10 Year Warranty
http://www.yumebed.com
FAQ
How Does Temperature Affect My Sleep?
Experts agree the temperature of your sleeping area and how comfortable you feel in it affect how well and how long you sleep. Why? "When you go to sleep, your set point for body temperature -- the temperature your brain is trying to achieve -- goes down," says H. Craig Heller, PhD, professor of biology at Stanford University, who wrote a chapter on temperature and sleep for a medical textbook. "Think of it as the internal thermostat. If it's too cold or too hot, the body struggles to achieve this set point."
A mild drop in body temperature induces sleep. Generally, Heller says, "If you are in a cooler [rather than too-warm] room, it is easier for that to happen." Ralph Downey III, PhD, chief of sleep medicine at Loma Linda University says, “If the room becomes uncomfortably hot or cold, you are more likely to wake up”.
What is the Best Temperature for Sleeping?
Recommending a specific temperature is difficult because what is comfortable for one person isn't for another. While a typical recommendation is to keep the room between 65° and 72°F, it is advised to set the temperature at what is most comfortable for you.
Experts from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, advise people to think of a bedroom as a cave: It should be cool, quiet, and dark. (Bats follow this logic and are champion sleepers, getting in 16 hours a day.)
What are the Care Instructions for My Removable Mattress Cover?
The cover included with YuMe is unique in that it can be removed and replaced if signs of “wear and tear” become apparent. The materials used in both the cover and your mattress have been selected to minimize the occurrence of contaminants such as mold, mildew and bacteria growth. Simply contact your nearest Mattress Firm location for additional information on obtaining a replacement cover.
While it is not advised or covered directly by warranty, the cover can be laundered in your household washing machine. Do not attempt to dry clean the mattress cover.
After removing the mattress cover and before placing it in a washing machine, take care to re-zip the cover to avoid damage to the cover while being washed. Wash in mild detergent and dry on low setting. Be sure the cover is completely dry before reinstalling it on the mattress.
How Much Energy Does the YuMe use?
YuMe™ uses 220 watts of power at its highest level of function, which is the equivalent of that used by two 110 watt nightstand lamps.
Does YuMe™ make any noise?
YuMe™ uses an innovative system of delivering conditioned air to the surface of the bed for personalized comfort. Custom fans installed in the bed have been designed to maximize air flow and minimize noise for optimum performance.
You may experience the white noise of the fans as you operate the heat/cool function of the bed and adjust the settings. There is also a cooling fan in the main control unit which will remain running while the bed is operating.
Location Environment: The level of sound experienced during the heat/cool operation is directly related to the location environment. For example, when a bed is located on a hardwood floor, the sound created by the fans may be amplified. To minimize the overall sound level, place a piece of carpet or other sound absorbing material directly under the bed to help reduce the noise level.
What is the Warranty/Return Policy of My Product?
Full One Year Warranty
YuMe™ is warranted against defects in the workmanship or materials for a period of one (1) year. During this first year after the warranty, Mattress Firm will repair or replace any defective part of YuMe™, and pay for all authorized labor associated with the repair.
Two Year Limited Warranty
Electronic Components - Mattress Firm will replace any YuMe™ part found to be defective during the second year of ownership. Purchaser shall pay all service fees associated with repair.
Mattress Cover – The customized removable mattress cover is warranted for a period two (2) years against defects in the workmanship or materials.
Ten Year Limited Warranty - Mattress
Excluding components associated with YuMe™, the mattress is covered by a 10-year, non-prorated warranty.
Return Policy
Mattress Firm is confident that you will be happy with the performance of your YuMe™. However, if after sleeping on it for up to a 100 day period, you decide to return the bed, please contact Customer Service before moving or disassembling your bed. Simply call the customer service desk within 100 days of the initial delivery for reimbursement of the full purchase price, less the initial shipping fees. You will be responsible for the cost of return shipping.
Additional Terms and Conditions
The warranty does not cover conditions arising from normal wear and tear of the bed; damage from tampering with any component or opening the electronic enclosures, or misuse of the product in a manner inconsistent with the operation and maintenance procedures outlined in the manual; repair or replacement of heat/cooled bed parts by an unauthorized person; damage from dry cleaning; Acts of God, such as but not limited to lightning damage.
If I have a Problem or Question, Who Do I Call?
1-888-51-CLIMATE is the service number for answering any and all questions referencing troubleshooting and electrical components for YuMe™..
1-800-MATTFIRM is the service number applicable for answering any and all questions concerning comfort, craftsmanship, and general inquiry for YuMe™.. You may also contact your local Mattress Firm location to address these areas.
Who makes this product?
Amerigon Incorporated, the leader in micro-climate applications, and Sleep Inc., a luxury mattress manufacturer with over 40 years of experience, have partnered with Mattress Firm to offer the world's first Climate Control Sleep System.
With over 10 years of thermoelectric development and manufacturing experience under their belt, and a highly successful Climate Control Seat system (prominently used in luxury vehicles) already in the market place, it seemed only natural to try and use their technology to help solve a very prevalent sleep issue- insomnia as a result of temperature.
This endeavor resulted in the creation of Amerigon Incorporated, whose single purpose was to bring a climate controlled sleep system to market. Amerigon Incorporated partnered with Mattress Firm, one of North America's largest bedding retailers, and Sleep Inc., a bedding manufacturer with over 40 years of experience, to complete the project.
http://www.yumebed.com/faq.aspx
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon and Mattress Firm, Inc. Launch Luxury Heated/Cooled Mattress Line
Date : 09/23/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 9.37 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:06AM
Amerigon and Mattress Firm, Inc. Launch Luxury Heated/Cooled Mattress Line
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 23 September 2010
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, and Mattress Firm, Inc., one of the nation's leading specialty mattress retailers with more than 580 locations across 22 states, announced today that they have launched an aggressive sales and marketing campaign for their new suite of actively heated and cooled luxury mattresses with a display and demonstration at the State Fair of Texas. The State Fair of Texas which runs September 24 through October 17 will be held at Fair Park in Dallas and is the largest state fair in the United States in annual attendance.
The mattresses are available in all three Mattress Firm booths at the State Fair; however, the largest display is located in the Centennial Building (Booth #1). Following a preview in Austin, TX, earlier this week, the mattresses are also now available in Mattress Firm retail locations in that city. A nationwide roll out of the line of mattresses is expected early next year.
The mattresses provide individual controls via two wireless remotes to actively heat and cool each side of the mattress independently using Amerigon's TE technology which has proven its success and popularity with consumers in Amerigon's heated and cooled seat systems in the automotive market. The company's automotive seat systems are available on 49 vehicle lines produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and Jaguar/Land Rover, with more than 6.1 million units sold.
The new mattresses sold under the brand name YuMe™ will be available in King and Queen sizes and starting retail is approximately $3,999.
"We believe Amerigon's success in the auto industry creates an exceptional opportunity to fill a void in the mattress industry," said Steve Stagner, Mattress Firm CEO. "The launch of YuMe™, the world's first air conditioned sleep system, gives consumers more control over their individual sleep environment. We spend almost 1/3 of our lives in bed, now we can do it more comfortably."
"We believe this unique mattress system will bring unprecedented levels of thermal comfort allowing consumers to customize their individual sleep environment and will set new standards of year-round sleeping comfort," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker. "This product successfully demonstrates the broad potential of our advanced TE technology. Strategically, it is important for Amerigon to establish new applications that expand the use of our technology beyond our highly successful Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) systems to a range of products aimed at very large markets outside the automotive industry."
The mattresses, which are made of environmentally friendly foam produced from coconut oil, will be built at the Corsicana, TX, plant of bedding producer Sleep Inc.
Thermoelectric Technology and Amerigon's Heating and Cooling Application
Thermoelectric technology relates to the direct conversion of electrical current to thermal energy (Peltier effect) or the direct conversion of heat differentials to electric current (Seebeck effect).
Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device acts as a heat pump in heating and cooling applications. In those applications, ambient air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to temperature settings in the electronic control units. The conditioned air is then circulated through small ducts or channels just below the surface material by a specially designed, quiet fan so that the surface temperature can be heated or cooled.
About Mattress Firm, Inc.
Houston-based Mattress Firm (www.mattressfirm.com) is one of the nation's premier specialty bedding retailers, offering a broad selection of both traditional and specialty mattresses from leading manufacturers, including Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Simmons, Stearns & Foster, and Sleep to Live. Founded in 1986, Mattress Firm's purpose is to improve lives one night at a time. With more than 580 stores across 22 states, Mattress Firm offers consumers the benefit of highly trained, knowledgeable sales professionals, a broad product offering, and competitive prices in an attractive and comfortable store environment.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Mattress Firm
Jill Bertotti (investors)
Sunni Williams
jill@allencaron.com
sunni.williams@mattressfirm.com
Len Hall (media)
(713) 923-1090
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated; Mattress Firm, Inc
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Signs 3-Year Agreement Providing Mattress Firm, Inc. Rights to Market Luxury Heated/Cooled Mattress Line
Date : 09/01/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.34 0.0 (0.00%) @ 7:30AM
Amerigon Signs 3-Year Agreement Providing Mattress Firm, Inc. Rights to Market Luxury Heated/Cooled Mattress Line
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Wednesday 1 September 2010
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that it has signed a three-year, exclusive agreement with Mattress Firm, Inc. providing Mattress Firm the rights to market throughout the continental U.S. a new suite of actively heated and cooled luxury mattresses using Amerigon's advanced TE technology. The mattress, which will provide individual controls to actively heat and cool each side of the mattress independently, is expected to be introduced this fall.
According to the International Sleep Products Association, 16.3 million mattresses were sold in the U.S. in 2009. Sales of mattresses, which sagged as the economy slumped, are expected to increase 4.5 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2011.
Houston-based Mattress Firm, one of the nation's leading specialty mattress retailers with more than 580 locations across 22 states, carries a variety of brands and specializes in luxury bedding products. Its broad product selection and distribution, knowledgeable sales associates and customer-centric focus, has allowed Mattress Firm to successfully navigate the economy and prepare for growth.
"Teaming with Mattress Firm will provide Amerigon a direct marketing distribution partner with a well-established, reputable national leader in the bedding and mattress industry," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker. "We look forward to working closely with Mattress Firm on this new venture, which we believe will demonstrate that our proprietary thermoelectric technology has broad potential applications for a variety of consumer products."
"This is an unprecedented retail partnership that marries proven technology from very different industries. Combining expertise from automotive technology with luxury bedding materials gives consumers personalized control over what may be keeping them up at night – support, comfort and temperature," said Steve Stagner, CEO of Mattress Firm.
Coker added that the suite of bedding products is the result of extensive research performed over the past couple of years and that actively heated and cooled bedding is a natural extension of the Company's TE technology. Currently, Amerigon's principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort.
"This is truly a revolutionary product never before seen in the bedding industry. The ability to use ambient air to efficiently heat and cool the surface of a mattress is the solution many sleepers have been dreaming of. Finally, there is a holistic solution for many sleep needs. By providing customers with personalized climate control options, Mattress Firm has taken another step forward in ensuring our customers' happiness," said Stagner.
Thermoelectric Technology and Amerigon's Heating and Cooling Application
Thermoelectric technology relates to the direct conversion of electrical current to thermal energy (Peltier effect) or the direct conversion of heat differentials to electric current (Seebeck effect).
Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device acts as a heat pump in heating and cooling applications. In those applications, ambient air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to temperature settings in the electronic control units. The conditioned air is then circulated through small ducts or channels just below the surface material by a specially designed, quiet fan so that the surface temperature can be heated or cooled.
About Mattress Firm, Inc.
Houston-based Mattress Firm (www.mattressfirm.com) is one of the nation's premier specialty bedding retailers, offering a broad selection of both traditional and specialty mattresses from leading manufacturers, including Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Simmons, Stearns & Foster, and Sleep to Live. Founded in 1986, Mattress Firm's purpose is to improve lives one night at a time. With more than 580 stores across 22 states, Mattress Firm offers consumers the benefit of highly trained, knowledgeable sales professionals, a broad product offering, and competitive prices in an attractive and comfortable store environment.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
2011 Hyundai Sonata to Offer Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option in Korea
Date : 08/12/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.39 0.0 (0.00%) @ 10:54AM
2011 Hyundai Sonata to Offer Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option in Korea
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 12 August 2010
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as an option on the front seats of the all-new and completely redesigned 2011 Hyundai Sonata, a mid-size family sedan, to buyers in the Korean market.
The new Hyundai Sonata is equipped with front wheel drive and numerous safety features, as well as the Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system.
"We are excited about the opportunity to be offered on additional Hyundai vehicles given the global reach of the Hyundai product lineup," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker. "We believe the unique design of our products have led to the expansion of the use of our heated and ventilated system in the 2011 Sonata. We look forward to continuing our close relationship with Hyundai now and in the future."
In addition to the all-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata, the 2011 Hyundai Tucson also offers Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system. Hyundai vehicles featuring Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, which delivers active, individually controlled heated or cooled air to seat occupants, include the Hyundai Equus (Korea) and Hyundai Genesis.
About the Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system combines passive cooling or ventilation with active heating. For cooler environments or more economical vehicle lines, a ventilated seat may be a viable solution, bringing ambient cabin air to the surface instead of the "cooled" air produced by the thermoelectric technology. In the cooling mode, the heater is turned off and the fan provides ambient cabin air to the seat surface. Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system fits within the same envelope as the active CCS system, so multiple Amerigon applications can be installed within or across various vehicle platforms.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
2011 KIA OPTIMA to Offer Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option
Date : 08/10/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.81 -0.15 (-1.37%) @ 10:27AM
2011 KIA OPTIMA to Offer Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Tuesday 10 August 2010
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as an option on the front seats of the all-new 2011 KIA Optima, a mid-size sedan now being sold in showrooms.
The new KIA Optima has been re-designed and re-engineered for 2011 and includes a variety of technology features and interior amenities including the Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system.
"We are pleased that KIA has included our new heated and ventilated seat system for its newly designed and much anticipated Optima," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker. "We believe that underscores the success our two companies have enjoyed working together and the value our technology provides for the KIA vehicles lines. We look forward to continuing to work closely with KIA."
In addition to the all-new 2011 KIA Optima, the 2011 KIA Sportage, the KIA Mohave and the KIA Borrego also offer Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system. KIA vehicles featuring Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, which delivers active, individually controlled heated or cooled air to seat occupants, include the KIA Opirus full-size sedan.
About the Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system combines passive cooling or ventilation with active heating. For cooler environments or more economical vehicle lines, a ventilated seat may be a viable solution, bringing ambient cabin air to the surface instead of the "cooled" air produced by the thermoelectric technology. In the cooling mode, the heater is turned off and the fan provides ambient cabin air to the seat surface. Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system fits within the same envelope as the active CCS system, so multiple Amerigon applications can be installed within or across various vehicle platforms.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Reports 2010 Second Quarter, Six-Month Results
Date : 08/04/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 9.89 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:46AM
Amerigon Reports 2010 Second Quarter, Six-Month Results
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Wednesday 4 August 2010
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced record revenues and operating income for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010. This year's second quarter marks the Company's fourth consecutive quarter of record revenues.
Product revenues for this year's second quarter increased to $28.8 million, up 169 percent from $10.7 million in last year's second quarter, and up 19 percent sequentially from $24.2 million in the 2010 first quarter. The increase in revenues primarily resulted from a much improved automotive marketplace which resulted in higher vehicle production levels on existing vehicles offering the Company's Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) systems. New model introductions, especially in the Asian markets, and the addition of a rear seat option on several vehicles also contributed to higher revenues. CCS systems include both TE-based heated and cooled systems and heated and ventilated seat systems.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "The slow, steady recovery of the global automotive market that began a year ago remains in effect. Improved vehicle production levels along with continued adoption of our seat systems in new vehicle lines by automotive manufacturers, and by consumers purchasing vehicles with our technology have led to the significant year-over-year and sequential improvements in revenues. With four consecutive quarters of record revenues, we believe we are gaining momentum and expect additional vehicle line introductions in the coming months to contribute to further increases in revenue. We are also looking forward to introducing other advanced products such as the heated and cooled bed and heated and cooled cup holder later this year."
In North America, one of the Company's most important markets, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) for vehicles sales was 11.3 million, up 18 percent, from 9.6 million during the second quarter of 2009. Vehicle production levels, which had been reduced below the SAAR rate during the second quarter of 2009 to reduce OEM inventory levels, were more in line with the current selling pace during the second quarter of 2010. Production of light vehicles in North America increased by 73 percent to 3.1 million during this year's second quarter from 1.8 million during the prior year period.
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the 2010 second quarter was 30 percent compared with 24 percent in the second quarter of 2009 and 27 percent in this year's first quarter. The year-over-year and sequential increase was primarily attributable to a favorable shift in the mix of products sold, lower raw material costs and higher coverage of fixed cost at the higher volume levels. Net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated for this year's second quarter was $2.3 million, or $0.11 per basic and $0.10 per diluted share, compared with net loss attributable to Amerigon Incorporated in the prior year second quarter of $869,000, or $0.04 loss per basic and diluted share.
For the first six months of 2010, product revenues increased to $53.0 million, up 154 percent from $20.9 million in the prior year period. Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for this year's first six months was 29 percent compared with 24 percent in the first six months of 2009. Net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated for this year's first six months was $4.0 million, or $0.18 per share, compared with a net loss attributable to Amerigon Incorporated in the prior year period of $1.8 million, or $0.08 loss per share.
Coker added that the Company continues to work towards expanding its TE technology beyond automotive seating into the next major market arenas. The Company's objective is for its unique technology to occupy an important place in the value chain of a new class of solid state energy conversion systems that replace existing electromechanical devices in the various potential large market sectors, including other automotive applications, stationary temperature management, aerospace and defense, individual comfort, waste heat harvesting and primary power generation.
The Company's balance sheet as of June 30, 2010, strengthened with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $30.0 million, total assets of $70.4 million, no bank debt and shareholders' equity of $52.6 million.
CCS systems are currently offered as an optional or standard feature on 49 automobile models produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, KIA and Jaguar/Land Rover. New vehicles equipped with CCS systems and launched since the second quarter of 2009 included the Ford Taurus, Ford F-250, Nissan 370Z Roadster, Nissan Patrol, Infiniti QX56, Infiniti G Convertible, KIA Mohave, KIA Borrego, KIA Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and two other programs that the Company has not yet announced. Two existing programs, the Jaguar XJ and Land Rover Range Rover, began offering CCS in the rear seating position for the first time during the 2009 third quarter.
Unit shipments of CCS systems for the 2010 second quarter and first six months were 407,000 and 756,000, respectively, compared with 154,000 and 297,000 units for the year-earlier periods. As of June 30, 2010, the Company had shipped nearly 6.1 million CCS units to customers since 2000.
The 2010 second quarter and six-month results include a year-over-year increase in net research and development expenses of $1.3 million for both periods, primarily due to the advanced TE materials program at ZT Plus. The Company is also developing new products, such as a heated and cooled bed, a heated and cooled cup holder and a cold storage box, and improving the current CCS system. The costs associated with these projects increased during this year's second quarter as several of the projects near the commercial launch phase of development. The bed and cup holder are expected to be launched in the fall of 2010.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for this year's second quarter and first six months increased $325,000 and $636,000, respectively, due primarily to an increase in the number of sales and marketing employees. The Company increased its marketing resources in order to support increased activities in South Korea, Europe and China. In addition, the increase for the six-month period included higher stock option expense.
Guidance
The Company expects product revenues in the 2010 third quarter to be up slightly compared with the 2010 second quarter, representing a more than 50 percent increase from the 2009 third quarter product revenue of $18.4 million. Although the automotive market appears to be stabilizing, there continues to be significant market risk which makes it difficult for Amerigon to provide meaningful full-year 2010 guidance.
Conference Call
As previously announced, Amerigon is conducting a conference call today to be broadcast live over the Internet at 11:30 AM Eastern Time to review these financial results. The dial-in number for the call is 1-877-941-8418. The live webcast and archived replay of the call can be accessed in the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Southeast Michigan, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
TABLES FOLLOW
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=43870470&symbol=ARGN
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 Second Quarter, Six-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Date : 07/27/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 9.28 0.0 (0.00%) @ 7:30AM
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 Second Quarter, Six-Month Results Release and Conference Call
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Tuesday 27 July 2010
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and applications, will report its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, August 4, and will host a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day.
Conference Call
Toll free dial-in number: 1-877-941-8418
International dial-in number: 1-480-629-9809
Webcast
A live webcast and one year archived replay of the call can be accessed on the
Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.amerigon.com.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
BSWB
14 years ago
2011 Hyundai Veracruz to Offer Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option
Date : 07/08/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 7.32 0.2 (2.81%) @ 8:00PM
2011 Hyundai Veracruz to Offer Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System as Option
Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (NASDAQ:ARGN)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 8 July 2010
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Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as an option on the front seats of the all-new 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, a crossover utility vehicle.
The new Hyundai Veracruz is the largest vehicle sold by Hyundai in North America and provides its customers with a range of luxurious interior features, including the option of Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system for added comfort.
"We are pleased that Hyundai has selected our new heated and ventilated seat system for a second vehicle in its product line," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker. "We believe this new comfort feature will be well received, and we are working closely with Hyundai to increase the number of future vehicle lines that will offer our seat systems."
In addition to the all-new 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, the 2011 Hyundai Tucson also offers Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system. Hyundai vehicles featuring Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, which delivers active, individually controlled heated or cooled air to seat occupants, include the Hyundai Equus and Hyundai Genesis.
About the Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system combines passive cooling or ventilation with active heating. For cooler environments or more economical vehicle lines, a ventilated seat may be a viable solution, bringing ambient cabin air to the surface instead of the "cooled" air produced by the thermoelectric technology. In the cooling mode, the heater is turned off and the fan provides ambient cabin air to the seat surface. Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system fits within the same envelope as the active CCS system, so multiple Amerigon applications can be installed within or across various vehicle platforms.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System Selected as Option for All-New 2011 Hyundai Tucson
Date : 06/02/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 8.5 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:18AM
Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System Selected as Option for All-New 2011 Hyundai Tucson
Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System Selected as Option for All-New 2011 Hyundai Tucson
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., June 2
NORTHVILLE, Mich., June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as an option on the front seats of the all-new 2011 Hyundai Tucson,
Hyundai characterizes the Tucson as a Compact Utility Vehicle (CUV) combining the rugged utility of a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with the maneuverability and refinement of a car.
"We have worked very closely with Hyundai engineers and are pleased Hyundai has selected our heated and ventilated seat system for the new Tucson," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker.
"We believe our heated and ventilated seat systems are an important extension of our product line, especially for automotive manufacturers such as Hyundai who are interested in providing consumers with increased levels of luxury and comfort in mid-range vehicles," Coker added.
Other Hyundai vehicles featuring Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system which delivers actively controlled heated or cooled air to a seat occupant include the Hyundai Equus and Hyundai Genesis.
About the Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system combines passive cooling or ventilation with active heating. For cooler environments or more economical vehicle lines, a ventilated seat may be a viable solution, bringing ambient cabin air to the surface instead of the "cooled" air produced by the thermoelectric technology. In the cooling mode, the heater is turned off and the fan provides ambient cabin air to the seat surface. Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system fits within the same envelope as the active CCS system, so multiple Amerigon applications can be installed within or across various vehicle platforms.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (Nasdaq: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Climate Control Seat(R) (CCS(R)) System Selected as Option for 2011 Infiniti QX56
Date : 06/01/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 8.82 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:01AM
Amerigon Climate Control Seat(R) (CCS(R)) System Selected as Option for 2011 Infiniti QX56
Amerigon Climate Control Seat(R) (CCS(R)) System Selected as Option for 2011 Infiniti QX56
Premium, Full-Size SUV Redesigned for 2011
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., June 1
NORTHVILLE, Mich., June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system will be offered as an option on the front seats of the all-new 2011 Infiniti QX56, a full-size, luxury Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV). The 2011 Infiniti QX56 has been re-engineered and redesigned to be more powerful with more lavish features, including CCS. The heated and cooled seat system will be offered on the 2011 Infiniti QX56 in North America and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The United Arab Emirates is a new regional market for Amerigon, said President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker.
"Expanding into new regional markets with our seat systems continues to be a goal of Amerigon," said Coker. "The consumer take rate of CCS in other Infiniti vehicles has been very high and we expect the same will be true in the second generation Infiniti QX56 in both North America and the UAE."
Other Infiniti vehicles that offer CCS include the Infiniti Q45, Infiniti M35/45, Infiniti FX35/50 and the Infiniti G Convertible.
About CCS
In the CCS system, which is built around Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device, air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to electronic switch input from the seat occupant. The conditioned air circulates by a specially designed fan through ducts in the seat cushion and seat back, resulting in a surface that can be heated or cooled. Each seat has individual electronic controls to adjust the level of heating or cooling. CCS substantially improves comfort compared with conventional air conditioners by focusing the cooling directly on the passenger through the seat, rather than waiting until ambient air cools the seat surface behind the passenger.
Amerigon is the largest supplier of TE systems for cars, with nearly 5.7 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
14 years ago
Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System Selected as Option for 2011 KIA Sportage
Date : 05/13/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 9.94 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:08AM
Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System Selected as Option for 2011 KIA Sportage
Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System Selected as Option for 2011 KIA Sportage
Compact SUV Known for Styling, Interior Amenities
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., May 13
NORTHVILLE, Mich., May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as an option on the front seats of the 2011 KIA Sportage, a compact Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) known for its styling and wide range of interior amenities.
The Sportage offers many upscale features including Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system, said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker.
"We have established a strong relationship with KIA through our Climate Control Seat® systems technology," Coker said. "We view KIA's selection of our heated and ventilated system for its new Sportage SUV as an endorsement of the success and value of our products."
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system is also offered on the KIA Mohave and KIA Borrego. The KIA Opirus offers Amerigon's proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system which delivers actively controlled heated or cooled air to a seat occupant.
About the Amerigon Heated and Ventilated Seat System
The Amerigon heated and ventilated seat system combines passive cooling or ventilation with active heating. For cooler environments or more economical vehicle lines, a ventilated seat may be a viable solution, bringing ambient cabin air to the surface instead of the "cooled" air produced by the thermoelectric. In the cooling mode, the heater is turned off and the fan provides ambient cabin air to the seat surface. Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system fits within the same envelope as the active CCS system, so multiple Amerigon applications can be installed within or across various vehicle platforms.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Reports 2010 First Quarter Results
Date : 04/27/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.8 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:00AM
Amerigon Reports 2010 First Quarter Results
Amerigon Reports 2010 First Quarter Results
Record Quarterly Revenues; Significant Year-Over-Year Gains in Gross Margins, Profitability
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., April 27
NORTHVILLE, Mich., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced record quarterly revenues of more than $24 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, with significant year-over-year improvements in gross margins and profitability.
Product revenues for this year's first quarter increased to $24.2 million, more than double product revenues of $10.2 million in last year's first quarter, and up 12 percent sequentially from $21.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. The increase in revenues primarily resulted from a much improved automotive marketplace, raising higher vehicle production levels on existing vehicles offering the Company's Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) systems. New model introductions and the addition of a rear seat option on several vehicles subsequent to the 2009 first quarter also contributed to higher revenues. CCS systems include both TE-based heated and cooled systems and heated and ventilated seat systems.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "The significant year-over-year and sequential improvements in revenues were driven by the resurgence in the global automotive industry that began in the fourth quarter of 2009 and which is continuing this year. Gross margins were also positively impacted by our ongoing focus on reducing product costs and improving efficiency. We believe these efforts and adding new vehicles and increasing market penetration have positioned the Company to take advantage of the recovery expected in the global automotive industry.
"In addition to the recently announced Ford F-250 line of trucks, which generated strong initial sales of CCS during the quarter, we expect several new vehicle introductions this year," Coker added.
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the 2010 first quarter was 27 percent compared with 24 percent in the 2009 first quarter. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to lower raw material costs, a favorable shift in the mix of products sold toward units having a higher gross margin percentage and higher coverage of fixed cost at the higher volume levels. Net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated for this year's first quarter was $1.7 million, or $0.08 per basic and $0.07 per diluted share, compared with net loss attributable to Amerigon Incorporated in the prior year first quarter of $936,000, or $0.04 loss per basic and diluted share.
Coker added that the Company is continuing its efforts to expand its applications of Amerigon's proprietary TE technology. Amerigon is pursuing heating and cooling applications in such markets as consumer goods, medical, computers, commercial heating and air conditioning and the military. The Company is also leading a team of high-profile commercial and academic partners studying the use of TE systems to convert waste heat from automobile exhaust into electric power. Amerigon is in the fifth phase of this program with the U.S. Department of Energy and expects to install prototypes in both Ford and BMW vehicles this year.
The Company's balance sheet as of March 31, 2010 remained strong with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $29.1 million, total assets of $67.1 million, no bank debt and shareholders' equity of $50.1 million.
In March 2010, the Company's research and development subsidiary, BSST LLC, purchased all of 5N Plus' 50 percent ownership of ZT Plus and is now the 100 percent owner of that operation. Amerigon is planning on finding a new partner for the ZT Plus venture; however, until that occurs, the Company will fund its ongoing operating expenses. The goal of ZT Plus is to develop and test new materials that show increased thermoelectric efficiency.
CCS systems are currently offered as an optional or standard feature on 49 automobile models produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, KIA and Jaguar/Land Rover. New vehicles equipped with CCS systems and launched since the first quarter of 2009 included the Lincoln MKT, Ford Taurus, Ford F-250, Nissan 370Z Roadster, Nissan Patrol, Infiniti QX, Infiniti G Convertible, KIA Mohave and KIA Borrego. Two existing programs, the Jaguar XJ and Range Rover began offering CCS in the rear seating position for the first time during the 2009 third quarter.
Unit shipments of CCS systems for the 2010 first quarter were 349,000 compared with 143,000 units for the year-earlier period.
The 2010 first quarter results include a slight year-over-year increase in net research and development expenses of $58,000, due to higher costs to support a greater number of research and development initiatives and the advanced TE materials program by ZT Plus. The Company is developing new products, such as the heated and cooled bed, heated and cooled cup holder and cold storage box, and improving the current CCS system. The costs associated with these projects were greater during this year's first quarter as several of the projects near the commercial launch phase of development. The cup holder is expected to be launched in a full-size sedan by a major automotive manufacturer in the fall of 2010.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for this year's 2010 first quarter increased $311,000, due primarily to an increase in the number of sales and marketing employees and higher stock option expense as compared to the 2009 period.
Guidance
The Company expects product revenues in the 2010 second quarter to be up slightly compared with the 2010 first quarter, representing a more than 100 percent increase from the 2009 second quarter product revenue of $10.7 million. Although the automotive market appears to be stabilizing, there continues to be significant market risk which makes it difficult for Amerigon to provide meaningful full-year 2010 guidance.
Conference Call
As previously announced, Amerigon is conducting a conference call today to be broadcast live over the Internet at 11:30 AM Eastern Time to review these financial results. The dial-in number for the call is 1-877-941-8418. The live webcast and archived replay of the call can be accessed in the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2010, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
TABLES FOLLOW
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Climate Control Seat (CCS) Now Available on 2010 Ford F-250 Trucks
Date : 04/22/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.78 0.0 (0.00%) @ 8:06AM
Amerigon Climate Control Seat (CCS) Now Available on 2010 Ford F-250 Trucks
Amerigon Climate Control Seat (CCS) Now Available on 2010 Ford F-250 Trucks
Standard Feature on King Ranch Models, Option on Lariat
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., April 22
NORTHVILLE, Mich., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system is currently being offered on two models of the new 2010 Ford F-250 line of trucks. The CCS system is standard equipment on the top-of-the-line King Ranch model and is available as an option on the Lariat model.
The Ford F-250, labeled as a "Super-Duty" truck, is designed to be a rugged work truck with many luxurious amenities, now including Amerigon's actively heated and cooled seat systems for year-round comfort.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea. For more information, visit www.amerigon.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 First Quarter Results Release and Conference Call
Date : 04/20/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 10.58 0.09 (0.86%) @ 10:59AM
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 First Quarter Results Release and Conference Call
Amerigon Sets Date for 2010 First Quarter Results Release and Conference Call
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., April 20
NORTHVILLE, Mich., April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and applications, will report its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, April 27, and will host a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day.
Conference Call
Toll free dial-in number: 1-877-941-8418
International dial-in number: 1-480-629-9809
Webcast
A live webcast and one year archived replay of the call can be accessed on the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: www.amerigon.com.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti
jill@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Buys Out Partner in Thermoelectric Materials Venture
Date : 03/26/2010 @ 12:27PM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 11.39 0.4 (3.64%) @ 9:39AM
Amerigon Buys Out Partner in Thermoelectric Materials Venture
Amerigon Buys Out Partner in Thermoelectric Materials Venture
Research, Development of More Efficient Materials to Enable Use of Thermoelectric Technology in Wide Variety of Industrial, Automotive Applications
PR Newswire
NORTHVILLE, Mich., March 26
NORTHVILLE, Mich., March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, announced today that its research and development subsidiary, BSST LLC, had reached agreement with 5N Plus Inc. to purchase 5N Plus' interest in ZT Plus. Financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.
Amerigon Chairman Oscar B. (Bud) Marx noted that the goal of ZT Plus to develop and manufacture thermoelectric materials that would enable Amerigon to use its TE technology in a wide variety of heating and cooling and power generation applications for industrial, commercial, medical, electronics and automotive markets, remains unchanged.
"The commercial progress was slower to develop than anticipated," Marx said. "There were differences over the ZT Plus future business strategy between the two partners that could not be reconciled. Accordingly, it was mutually agreed that Amerigon would purchase 5N Plus' interest in the venture. As a result, ZT Plus is now completely owned and operated by Amerigon."
Amerigon, the developer and manufacturer of the Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, is the largest supplier of thermoelectric devices to the global automotive industry.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ-GS: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact:
Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Comments on W.E.T. Automotive AG Lawsuit
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, responded today to legal action filed this week by the Windsor, Ontario, Canada-based subsidiary of Germany-based W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG (W.E.T.). Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel R. Coker, stated that Amerigon believes W.E.T.'s claims are without merit and appear to be a response to the patent infringement action filed by Amerigon against W.E.T. in November 2009.
In November, Amerigon sued W.E.T. alleging that W.E.T. has infringed and continues to infringe upon four patents owned or licensed by Amerigon. The Amerigon patents at issue, which relate to thermoelectric systems and technologies, includes United States Patent Nos. 4,923,248; 5,626,021; 7,587,901; and RE38,128, all of which were asserted in the lawsuit against W.E.T.
Amerigon's management and its legal team have reviewed the legal action filed by W.E.T. and believe that Amerigon's technology and patents will be protected.
Coker said, "Amerigon was a willing participant in early discussions to resolve the issues with W.E.T., but conversations reached an impasse, which forced us to seek resolution through the courts. We will continue to vigorously assert our intellectual property rights against W.E.T. and any others who we believe are making unlawful use of our intellectual property."
Amerigon currently holds or licenses 38 U.S. patents on thermoelectric systems and technologies.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ:ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc Jill Bertotti (investors) Len Hall (media) (949) 474-4300
DATASOURCE: Amerigon Incorporated
CONTACT: investors, , Jill Bertotti, , or media, Len
Hall, , +1-949-474-4300, both of Allen & Caron Inc for
Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Reports 2009 Fourth Quarter, Year-End Results
Date : 02/10/2010 @ 6:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 8.31 0.0 (0.00%) @ 7:43AM
Amerigon Reports 2009 Fourth Quarter, Year-End Results
Record Quarterly Revenues; Profitable for the Year
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009, which include record quarterly revenues of more than $21 million, higher gross margins and a profit for the full year.
Product revenues for the 2009 fourth quarter increased 68 percent to $21.6 million, compared with $12.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. Sequentially, this compares with $18.4 million for the 2009 third quarter. The increase in revenues was due to higher sales from new introductions of vehicles offering the Company's Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) systems and the addition of a rear seat option on certain existing vehicles subsequent to the 2008 fourth quarter. CCS systems include both TE-based heated and cooled systems and heated and ventilated seat systems. The increase was partially offset by lower volumes on existing vehicles.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "I am very pleased to report that fourth quarter revenues reached record levels and we achieved profitability for the full year as net income for the quarter more than offset the loss in the first nine months of the year. The solid performance we experienced for the quarter is due primarily to the impact of new vehicles offering our seat systems. The popularity of our seat systems remains strong with both automotive manufacturers and consumers alike, and we are encouraged by the improvement of production levels at automotive manufacturers. We are also pleased with the early success we are seeing in our efforts to improve our gross margins. As we expected, the decrease in the cost of Tellurium, a key component of CCS, began to positively impact our gross margins during the quarter. Risks still exist beyond our control, but finding ways to improve our gross margins will continue to be an area of focus for us."
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the 2009 fourth quarter was 29 percent compared with 22 percent in the 2008 fourth quarter. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to lower raw material costs, a favorable shift in the mix of products sold toward units having a higher gross margin percentage and higher coverage of fixed cost at the higher volume levels. Net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $1.4 million, or $0.07 per basic and $0.06 per diluted share, compared with net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated in the 2008 fourth quarter of $291,000, or $0.01 per basic and diluted share.
For 2009, product revenues were $60.9 million, compared with $63.6 million for the prior year. Automotive production and sales volumes, impacted by slowing worldwide economic activity and the limited availability of consumer credit, were significantly lower during 2009, particularly in the first half of the year, as compared with the year earlier. In North America, one of the Company's most important markets, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate ("SAAR") for vehicle sales decreased 21 percent to 10.4 million from 13.2 million during 2008. Vehicle production levels were decreased accordingly. During 2009, production of light vehicles in North America decreased by 32 percent to 8.6 million from 12.6 million during 2008.
Coker added, "We were able to maintain such strong revenue levels by introducing CCS on several new vehicle platforms that were launched during the year and increasing installation rates of CCS on existing light vehicle platforms. We expect that light vehicle production levels are likely to be higher during 2010."
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for 2009 was 26 percent compared with 29 percent in 2008. The year-over-year decrease was primarily attributable to higher raw material costs, an unfavorable shift in the mix of products sold toward units having a lower gross margin percentage and lower coverage of fixed cost at the lower volume levels. For 2009, net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated was $723,000, or $0.03 per share, compared with net income attributable to Amerigon Incorporated of $3.6 million, or $0.16 per share, for 2008.
Amerigon completed its tenth full year of producing and selling CCS in 2009 and has shipped approximately 5.3 million units to-date.
Additional highlights of 2009 included the award of a contract to manufacture a heated and cooled cup holder that is expected to be launched in a full-size sedan by a major automotive manufacturer in the fall of 2010; the establishment of ZT Plus, a partnership with 5N Plus Inc; and the Company's BSST subsidiary being granted the fifth phase of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program to install and test thermoelectric waste heat recovery systems on BMW Group and Ford vehicles.
Coker added that the Company is continuing its efforts to expand its applications of Amerigon's proprietary TE technology. Amerigon is pursuing heating and cooling applications in such markets as consumer goods, medical, computers, commercial heating and air conditioning and the military. The Company is also leading a team of high-profile commercial and academic partners studying the use of TE systems to convert waste heat from automobile exhaust into electric power.
"We are working on developing and commercializing products that will use advanced thermoelectric materials which will broaden and diversify our revenues in the years to come," Coker said.
The Company's balance sheet as of December 31, 2009 remained strong with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $28.4 million, total assets of $62.4 million, no bank debt and shareholders' equity of $47.8 million.
CCS systems are currently offered as an optional or standard feature on 44 automobile models produced by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Tata Motors. New vehicles equipped with CCS systems and launched since the end of 2008 included the Lincoln MKT, Ford Taurus, Jaguar XK, Nissan 370Z Roadster, Infiniti G Convertible, KIA Mohave and KIA Borrego. Two existing programs, the Jaguar XJ and Land Rover Range Rover began offering CCS in the rear seating position for the first time during the 2009 third quarter.
Unit shipments of CCS systems for the 2009 fourth quarter and year were 309,000 and 874,000, respectively, compared with 188,000 and 931,000 units for the respective year-earlier periods.
The 2009 fourth quarter and full year results include year-over-year decreases in net research and development expenses of $370,000 and $789,000, respectively, due to the formation of ZT Plus, lower costs to support a smaller number of new vehicle programs launched during 2009 as compared to 2008 and lower costs associated with certain new product applications of the CCS technology that are currently in development.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the 2009 fourth quarter and year increased $1.5 million and $1.7 million, respectively, due primarily to management bonuses, estimated future legal fees for a patent infringement lawsuit with competitor W.E.T. Automotive Systems, and higher stock option compensation expense as compared to 2008. The management incentive bonus program was cancelled during 2008 due to the significant economic and automotive downturn.
Guidance
The Company expects product revenues in the 2010 first quarter to be up slightly compared with the 2009 fourth quarter, representing a more than 100 percent increase from the 2009 first quarter product revenue of $10.2 million. Although the automotive market appears to be beginning to stabilize, there continues to be significant market risk which makes it difficult for Amerigon to provide meaningful full-year 2010 guidance.
Conference Call
As previously announced, Amerigon is conducting a conference call today to be broadcast live over the Internet at 11:30 AM Eastern Time to review these financial results. The dial-in number for the call is 1-877-941-1429. The live webcast and archived replay of the call can be accessed in the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at http://www.amerigon.com/.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ:ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc Jill Bertotti (investors) Len Hall (media) (949) 474-4300
TABLES FOLLOW
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Sets Date for 2009 Fourth Quarter and Year-end Results Release and Conference Call
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARGN), a leader in developing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and applications, will report its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 10, and will host a conference call at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time that same day
Conference Call Toll free dial-in number: 1-877-941-1429 International dial-in number: 1-480-629-9666
Webcast A live webcast and one year archived replay of the call can be accessed on the Events page of the Investor section of Amerigon's website at: http://www.amerigon.com/
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ:ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc Jill Bertotti (949) 474-4300
DATASOURCE: Amerigon Incorporated
CONTACT: Jill Bertotti, Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300,
Web Site: http://www.amerigon.com/
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Upgraded to NASDAQ Global Select Market
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that the NASDAQ Stock Market has upgraded the listing of the Company's securities to the NASDAQ Global Select Market effective January 4, 2010. The Company's securities continue to trade under the symbol "ARGN."
The NASDAQ Global Select Market, one of the three market tiers at NASDAQ, recognizes the highest financial listing standards in the world, with measures including market value, liquidity and earnings. Qualifying for the NASDAQ Global Select Market is a mark of achievement, leadership, credibility and high ethical standards for companies
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "Having qualified for the NASDAQ Global Select Market is significant validation of the Company and our Board's dedication to corporate governance practices of the highest standard and integrity. Inclusion in this market should increase our visibility in the capital markets and further broaden our shareholder base."
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ:ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2009, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc Jill Bertotti (investors) Len Hall (media) (949) 474-4300
DATASOURCE: Amerigon Incorporated
CONTACT: investors, Jill Bertotti, , or media, Len
Hall, , both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for
Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG
Date : 11/18/2009 @ 10:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : Amerigon Incorporated (MM) (ARGN)
Quote : 6.79 -0.07 (-1.02%) @ 2:03PM
Amerigon Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Windsor, Ontario, Canada-based subsidiary of Germany-based W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG. The complaint filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleges that W.E.T. Automotive Systems infringes four patents owned or licensed by Amerigon. The Amerigon patent portfolio, which relates to thermoelectric systems and technologies, includes United States Patent Nos. 4,923,248; 5,626,021; 7,587,901; and RE38,128, all of which were asserted in the lawsuit against W.E.T. Automotive Systems.
Thermoelectric technologies are the basis of a number of Amerigon current and planned products, including its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system for the automotive market.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "Innovation and creativity are key elements of our business strategy and intellectual property portfolio, and they have enabled us to establish our leadership position as the largest supplier of TE systems for the automotive industry. We are committed to vigorously protecting our intellectual property rights for all of the Company's important innovations."
Amerigon currently holds or licenses 38 U.S. patents on thermoelectric systems and technologies.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ:ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2009, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc Jill Bertotti (investors) Len Hall (media) (949) 474-4300
DATASOURCE: Amerigon Incorporated
CONTACT: investors, Jill Bertotti, , or media, Len
Hall, , both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for
Amerigon Incorporated
BSWB
15 years ago
Amerigon Climate Control Seat(R) (CCS(R)) System Selected as Option for Redesigned 2010 Infiniti M45 and 2010 Nissan Fuga
Popular Heated and Cooled Seat System Offered as Option Since 2003 Model Year
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (NASDAQ:ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system will be offered as an option for the front seats of the redesigned 2010 Infiniti M45 performance sedan and its Japanese counterpart, the Nissan Fuga sold only in Japan. The Infiniti Q45, which has been replaced by the M45, and the Nissan CIMA, which has been replaced in Japan by the Fuga, were the first vehicles made by Nissan to offer CCS, and have featured the heated and cooled seat system since the 2003 model year. The vehicles are expected to be in showrooms this fall.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said, "We have had a longstanding, expanding and successful partnership with Nissan over the years. We believe the Nissan commitment to keep CCS as an option is due to the high customer interest in previous models and for the enhancement of year-round comfort that our seat system provides. These vehicles are well-received and respected around the world and we look forward to being a part of the success of these redesigned vehicles."
CCS, the premier actively heated and cooled seat system in the global automotive seat market, delivers year-round comfort to automotive seat occupants by providing both active heating and cooling. The system is completely independent of the automobile's heating and air conditioning system and does not reduce power available to the engine. It also emits no CFCs or other gases and is completely friendly to the environment.
Other vehicles from Nissan that offer CCS include the Infiniti G37, Infiniti FX35, Infiniti FX50, Nissan 370Z, Nissan Maxima and Nissan CIMA. The Nissan Teana offers Amerigon's heated and ventilated seat system.
About CCS
In the CCS system, which is built around Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device, air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to electronic switch input from the seat occupant. The conditioned air circulates by a specially designed fan through ducts in the seat cushion and seat back, resulting in a surface that can be heated or cooled. Each seat has individual electronic controls to adjust the level of heating or cooling. CCS substantially improves comfort compared with conventional air conditioners by focusing the cooling directly on the passenger through the seat, rather than waiting until ambient air cools the seat surface behind the passenger.
Amerigon is the largest supplier of TE systems for cars, with more than 5.0 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ:ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat® (CCS®) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2009, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc Jill Bertotti (investors) Len Hall (media) (949) 474-4300
DATASOURCE: Amerigon Incorporated
CONTACT: Jill Bertotti (investors), , or Len Hall
(media), , both of Allen & Caron Inc for Amerigon,
+1-949-474-4300
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Penny Roger$
13 years ago
