Amerigon's Proprietary Climate Control Seat(R) Seats, Heated and
Ventilated Seats To Be Sold through National Network
NORTHVILLE, Mich. and AUSTIN, Texas, June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing
products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, and Classic Soft
Trim (CST), one of the world's leading aftermarket providers of
leather-trimmed interiors and other luxury features, today jointly announced
an alliance to sell patented Amerigon heated and cooled seat systems in the
custom car, retrofit and automotive aftermarket industry nationwide. This
agreement gives CST a limited exclusive right to market and install the
Amerigon Climate Control Seat(R) (CCS(R)) system and Amerigon's heated and
ventilated seat system through CST's national dealer network and other
authorized and certified installers.
"This is a significant new venture for us with a partnership in a very
important market," said Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel
R. Coker. "We have searched long and hard to find the right partner for an
aftermarket venture and we believe we have found it in Classic Soft Trim. The
company is the leader in providing luxury interior accessories to new car
dealers, custom car brands such as Roush, as well as the Class 8 truck and
recreational vehicle market. Classic Soft Trim provides these retrofit
products and services though its well trained professional marketing and
installation staff. We are confident it has the necessary resources,
certifications and geographical company-owned facilities needed to be
successful. We look forward to a very prosperous relationship."
Classic Soft Trim, based in Austin, Texas, is a major supplier of premium
quality leather interior kits for the automotive industry. The company is ISO
9001 certified and, with past OEM partners such as Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota
TRD, Ford Racing, Isuzu and Subaru, CST markets and installs its products
through 23 centers throughout the U.S., including most major cities, and an
extensive North America network of authorized installers.
Classic Soft Trim typically targets premier custom cars as well as high
production volume vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, Chevy Silverado, Chevy
Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, Ford F150, Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, Nissan Altima,
as well as other models that could benefit from added custom features like
heated and cooled or heated and ventilated seats.
"Amerigon is the global expert in thermoelectric-based heated and cooled
seats, we're the custom seat experts," said Dwight Forrister, President, CEO
of Classic Soft Trim. "Many of our customers are looking for additional
interior luxuries, like the comforts that come with heated and cooled seats in
any weather condition. We believe our extensive dealership network will
welcome the availability of these new features."
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
4.5 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.
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 Classic Soft Trim
In 1985, Classic Soft Trim (CST) pioneered the aftermarket leather
interior industry providing leather packages where limited or no factory
leather was available. Since then CST has become the world's leading
aftermarket provider of leather-trimmed interiors. In 1996, CST broadened its
capabilities to include sunroof installations and is now the nation's leading
aftermarket installer of sunroofs. Along with leather-trimmed interiors and
sunroofs, Classic Soft Trim also carries other products such as OEM style
navigations and video systems, Bluetooth hands free systems, molded dash
treatments with complementing steering wheels, and safety packages that
include backup sensors and reverse cameras.
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(R) (CCS(R)) 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
March 31, 2009, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated
-0- 06/25/2009
/CONTACT: investors, Jill Bertotti, jill@allencaron.com, or media, Len
Hall, len@allencaron.com, both of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for
Amerigon Incorporated/
(ARGN)
CO: Amerigon Incorporated; Classic Soft Trim; CST
ST: Michigan, Texas
IN: AUT TEX
SU: LIC
PR
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1141 06/25/2009 06:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com