Apr 9, 2009

The Austin Company and CENTROSOLAR America team up to deliver photovoltaic systems for commercial roofs

Cleveland, OH and Scottsdale, AZ, April 9, 2009

The Austin Company, international leading US- based design, engineering and construction firm, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kajima USA, and CENTROSOLAR America, Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of photovoltaic (PV) equipment and a wholly-owned subsidiary of The CENTROSOLAR Group, a publicly-traded company in Europe, announced that they have reached a multi-year teaming agreement to jointly deliver PV systems to commercial customers in North America.

The Austin Company is a proven performer with over 20,000 buildings designed and built throughout the world. Several of Austin’s US clients in the Food, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals and service industries are recognizing the need to be more energy efficient in their operations and realize the value proposition of PV systems on their roofs.

According to Mike Pierce, Sr. Vice President of The Austin Company, “Austin has always searched for collaboration with technology leaders who bring value to the built environment.  Austin’s clients throughout the US are searching for reliable solutions to lower their energy costs and their carbon footprint. Teaming with Centrosolar enables us to bring their leading technology into service for our clients enabling them to attain their goals.  This is a strategy that works well for everyone involved!”

“Austin has a hundred-year tradition in the architectural design and construction industry, which is greatly valued in the marketplace. We believe that commercial clients of Austin will increasingly recognize the value of adopting high-quality PV systems on their rooftops, as we grow our US market presence and such systems become more affordable in the market. We are already working with Austin on several US projects where clients with high energy consumption are adopting PV for substantial savings leading to a fair return-on-investment and to meet their corporate sustainability objectives.” said Ron Tovella, President and CEO of CENTROSOLAR America Inc.

In Europe, CENTROSOLAR has a joint-venture with Pohlen, a leading industrial roofing company, and has been very successful in executing several turnkey PV projects in several European countries. CENTROSOLAR’s expertise in executing large turnkey projects will now be leveraged to serve its new US customers.

About The Austin Company:

The Austin Company is an international firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of in-house architectural, engineering, design-build, construction management and consulting services. In addition to services for the built environment, Austin offers value-added strategic planning services including site location, transportation/distribution consulting, facility/process audits and more. The Austin Company is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with offices in Cleveland, Atlanta and Irvine, CA and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kajima USA. Kajima Corporation is one of the leading engineering and construction contractors in the world with nearly $18.9 billion in total revenues for 2008.