A media blitz...
The news is on Yahoo but it is not at PRnewswire.com. And we pay for that coverage. They better do a repost. Anyway here's the story.
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biz.yahoo.com
Friday May 8, 5:20 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Intermagnetics General Corporation
FRIGC FR-12 -- Refrigeration Pros' Alternative To
Harmful Freon(A) They Find FRIGC Cools Better Than
Alternatives, Less Expensive Than Freon
LATHAM, N.Y., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- When Rod Miller, owner of the Econo Lube'N Tune
franchise in Santa Rosa, Calif., decided to replace the ozone- depleting Freon in the air conditioner
on his own pickup truck, he naturally turned to FRIGC(R) FR-12(TM) refrigerant. It's the same
product he recommends for his customers -- his choice over other alternatives, including the R-134a
that is currently used in new cars and trucks sold in the United States.
''R-134a doesn't work nearly as well as FRIGC,'' Miller says. ''It just doesn't get as cool. FRIGC
is very comparable to Freon (in cooling capacity); people won't even know the difference.'' Miller
does, however, notice the difference with R-134a, which is installed in his wife's 1997 car: ''It takes
longer to reach full cooling and it doesn't get as cool.''
Likewise, Barry Stevens, director of maintenance for the 94-bus Arrow Stage Lines/Coach USA in
Phoenix, Ariz., opts for FRIGC over other alternatives. In fact, he says, he has begun converting
some R-134a systems to FRIGC.
''We're used to seeing near 100-degree days here for three, four, five months,'' Stevens says.
''FRIGC works a lot better in our climate -- more like R-12 (Freon) than anything.''
FRIGC in a patented, U.S. EPA-accepted and UL(R)(b) Classified (see complete markings on
product) alternative to Freon. It has been developed and is distributed by InterCool Energy Corp., a
wholly owned subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corporation (Amex: IMG - news).
The manufacture of Freon has been banned in the United States, although existing supplies can be
used. New cars and trucks sold in the United States since 1994 employ R-134a. But converting
existing Freon units to R-134a can be an expensive proposition, costing up to $1,000 or more per
vehicle depending on the amount of retrofitting -- including new hoses, compressors, dryers,
condensers and lubricants -- that has to be installed. By contrast, conversion to FRIGC -- a direct
replacement with no requirements for system changes -- can cost less than $100.
Even after a full conversion to R-134a or in units manufactured for R-134a, the results are not
satisfactory, Stevens says. ''We've had high pressure problems in the compressors, while the
pressure is a lot lower with FR-12,'' he explains. ''That means we'll have a longer compressor life.''
Additionally, Stevens notes, R-134a takes much longer to cool a system down, which is one reason
he has begun converting some R-134a units to FRIGC.
Miller adds that FRIGC conversions are the only ones he will consider at his Econo Lube 'N Tune
shop, one of about 250 in the nation. ''If a customer is absolutely adamant about R-134a, I'll send
them to another shop up the street. But I try to convince them to go with FRIGC. The conversion
runs very smoothly -- there is no issue with evaporators, condensers or compressors like you run
into with R-134a.''
FRIGC is an environmentally friendly alternative to ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
such as Freon. More than 160 nations have agreed to phase out use of CFCs. Most developed
nations have banned consumption of newly made Freon type CFCs, while developing nations have
agreed to phase out production no later than 2005. Many, however, are accelerating that timetable
to the year 2000. The ease of changing over a system to FR-12, and the reduced energy
consumption present in FR-12 systems provides both environmental and economic incentives to
speed-up the phase-out of CFCs.
FRIGC is already distributed internationally, including through Pennzoil and its company-owned Jiffy
Lube shops, United Refrigeration in the USA; Dynatemp International; G.A.S. Service
Replacements Products in Canada; Al- Murjan in the Middle East; BOC Gases in Australia;
Sumitomo Corporation in the Asia Pacific Rim.
Intermagnetics (Amex: IMG - news) is a leading developer and manufacturer of low- temperature
(LTS) and high-temperature (HTS) superconducting magnets, wire and cable as well as associated
low-temperature refrigeration equipment, and radio-frequency (RF) coils, the combination of which
is essential to successful application of superconductivity, especially in equipment for Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI). The Company is dedicated to the development and commercialization of
applied superconductivity and refrigeration systems. The Company also supplies permanent magnet
systems, materials separation equipment and FRIGCr refrigerants as replacements for
ozone-depleting refrigerants.
(a) Freon(R) is a registered trademark of E.I. duPont deNemours & Co.
(b) ULr(R) is a registered trademark of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
SOURCE: Intermagnetics General Corporation
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