Business description of AMERICAN-SUPERCONDUCTOR-CORP-DE from last 10-k form

BUSINESS

Overview

We are a leading provider of megawatt-scale solutions that lower the cost of wind power and enhance the performance of the power grid. In the wind power market, we enable manufacturers to field wind turbines through our advanced engineering, support services and power electronics products. In the power grid market, we enable electric utilities and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit and distribute power through our transmission planning services and power electronics and superconductor-based products. Our wind and power grid products and services provide exceptional reliability, security, efficiency and affordability to our customers.

We were founded in April, 1987 and since our inception, our company has served more than ten wind turbine manufacturing customers including Beijing JINGCHENG New Energy in China, Inox Wind in India, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Korean Electric Power Corporation in South Korea and TECO in Taiwan. We have also served over 100 customers in the grid market since our inception, including American Electric Power and Long Island Power Authority in the United States, EDF Group in France and Ergon Energy in Australia. We serve customers globally through a localized sales and field service presence in our core target markets.

Our wind and power grid solutions help to improve energy efficiency, alleviate power grid capacity constraints and increase the adoption of renewable energy generation. Demand for our solutions is driven by the growing needs for renewable sources of electricity, such as wind and solar energy, and for modernized smart grids that improve power reliability and quality. Concerns about these factors have led to increased spending by corporations as well as supportive government regulations and initiatives on local, state and national levels, including renewable portfolio standards, tax incentives and international treaties. We estimate that the total addressable global market for our wind and grid solutions is nearly $10 billion.

We segment our operations into two market-facing business units: Wind and Grid. We believe this market-centric structure enables us to more effectively anticipate and meet the needs of wind turbine manufacturers, power generation project developers and electric utilities. We have reclassified prior period segment information in the Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect our new segments.

Our fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31. When we refer to a particular fiscal year, we are referring to the fiscal year beginning on April 1 of that same year. For example, fiscal 2011 refers to the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2011. Other fiscal years follow similarly.

Competitive strengths

We believe our competitive strengths position us well to execute on our growth plans in the markets we serve.