UNIPOWER INTRODUCES REVOLUTIONARY QUICK-SET POWERCASSETTE®

CORAL SPRINGS, FL (April 12, 2002). UNIPOWER Corporation, a leading producer of high-density, hot-swap power supplies and power conditioning solutions, today introduced its revolutionary Quick-Set PowerCassette® ultra-compact, 1U high, six-output, 600-watt switching power supply. The Quick-Set PowerCassette's outputs can be set instantly by internal DIP switches. This Quick-Set feature obsoletes older, bulky, costly modular designs available in the industry today and allows UNIPOWER to offer small-quantity next day delivery for virtually any typical networking, storage, or communication product application requiring 350 to 600 watts of power. The PowerCassette's previously-unheard-of flexibility also assures engineers that if requirements change as system designs evolve, the same power supply can continue to be used.

Quick-Set PowerCassette units, available in chassis-mount and hot-swap versions, provide up to six outputs, including a 5VDC, one-ampere independent standby output. Maximum continuous power is 600 watts, and available adjustable output voltages are from 1.8VDC to 12VDC. The ultra-compact, low-profile case measures only 1.6 inches high (1U) by 5 inches wide by 11 inches deep, producing 6.8 watts per cubic inch. The case incorporates internal cooling fans and a single, pluggable connector. Other features include power factor correction, single-wire current sharing, output ORing diodes on the hot-swap version, remote sensing, no-load operation, universal input range of 85 to 264VAC, and overvoltage and overtemperature protection. Input and output control and monitoring features also are incorporated.

Due to the uniqueness of the Quick-Set PowerCassette design, one U.S. patent already has been issued. Two additional patents are pending.

Joe Merino, UNIPOWER's President, stated, "The Quick-Set PowerCassette is the most significant new-product introduction in UNIPOWER's twelve-year history and represents the culmination of the company's conversion into the high-density, hot-swap power solutions company. Over the past two years, we have developed a broad line of new-generation products for traditional electronic OEM markets as well as the telecom market, with both power components and complete energy systems. We are gratified by customer reaction to the Quick-Set PowerCassette and the rest of our revamped product line. As a result, even though the power industry now is mired in a deep slump, UNIPOWER's design wins, backlog and sales are rising dramatically."

UNIPOWER Corporation designs, manufactures and sells medium-to-high-power switching power supplies and systems that condition power for demanding networking, data storage, telecommunications, industrial and medical equipment applications. UNIPOWER, headquartered in Coral Springs, Florida, serves a diverse base of customers from ISO 9001-certified facilities in Florida, Massachusetts, and the United Kingdom.

UNIPOWER is owned by North American Funds, partnerships of institutional investors that specialize in acquiring small businesses and developing them into significantly larger enterprises. North American, with offices in Chicago and Fort Lauderdale, has acquired companies in a wide variety of industries since its formation in 1989.