DRAKER LABORATORIES SECURES CAPITAL AND PARTNERS FOR UPCOMING PRODUCT LAUNCH

Burlington, VT—August 4, 2008—Draker Laboratories (“Draker”) announces a series of partnerships and the securing of a significant investment today. These partnerships and investment greatly improves Draker’s ability to grow the company’s position in the renewable energy monitoring industry. This exciting development includes strategic alliances with Campbell Scientific and the Nathaniel Group as well as investments from FreshTracks Capital II L.P and the State of Vermont through its Clean Energy Development Fund. Draker is now on track to complete the development of a next generation renewable energy monitoring product that will be unveiled at the Solar Power 2008 conference in San Diego, CA this fall. “We are excited about the strategic infrastructure Draker has assembled through this transaction,” said AJ Rossman, founder and CEO of Draker, “these partnerships allow Draker to better serve the commercial renewable energy sector through improved hardware, software and customer support”

“Campbell Scientific dataloggers have been an integral part of Draker’s product line since its inception and solidifying this relationship signals the strong endorsement we have for Draker’s superior product offering, as well as for the rapidly growing renewable energy industry,” commented Joshua Campbell. Joshua Campbell joined Draker’s Board of Directors simultaneous with the closing of the Series A financing.
The Nathaniel Group, based in Vergennes, VT, has been a critical partner in Draker’s product development; their financial commitment to Draker represents an informed and powerful vote of confidence in Draker’s product line.

The Clean Energy Development Fund, an agency fund housed at the Department of Public Service and chartered to promote the development and deployment of cost-effective and environmentally sustainable electric power resources, also invested in this round. "Draker's technology efficiently solves a critical issue for renewable generation projects. Vermont's emerging renewable energy industry is also benefiting from their growth as they attract and develop great engineers for this specialty. Draker's work with other Vermont companies, as suppliers and partners, is broadening participation in this critical field. We were gratified to work with especially competent lead investors for our first equity investment." Lawrence Miller, Chair, Investment Committee VT Clean Energy Development Fund.

“We have been watching Draker for close to 3 years now, and have been impressed with their progress in the market,” noted Lee Bouyea, Managing Director of FreshTracks Capital. The increased productization of their monitoring solution when combined with a number of new key accounts and sales wins indicated to us that Draker had met a critical inflexion point, and that it was the right time to invest.” Bouyea also joined Draker’s Board of Directors at the closing of the transaction.

This Series A investment allows the company to hire several new staff members in the coming weeks including a VP of Sales and Business Development. Some capital will also be allocated to Sales & Marketing budget, while the remainder will further the company’s R&D efforts. Draker’s commitment to innovation that meets the needs of their customers is now backed with proper funding.

About Draker Laboratories
Founded in 1999 as Draker Solar Design, Draker Laboratories ™ provides high-performance monitoring and data management systems for green power technologies, including: PV, solar thermal, wind, and hybrid energy systems. This allows installers and owners to optimize system performance, maximize return on investment and provide appropriate documentation for government and performance-based contracts.

About Campbell Scientific
Founded in 1974, Campbell Scientific manufactures dataloggers, data acquisition systems, and measurement and control products used worldwide in research and industry. Campbell Scientific instrumentation is known for its flexibility, precision measurements, and dependability—even in harsh, remote environments. Since inception, over 150,000 systems have been delivered worldwide. Investment in Draker Laboratories is an opportunity to work more closely with capable individuals with a shared interest in renewable energy.

About FreshTracks Capital
Founded in 2001, FreshTracks Capital, L.P. (www.freshtrackscap.com) is a venture capital fund based in Shelburne, VT with $25MM under management. FreshTracks Capital II has invested in 5 companies to date, including NativeEnergy, ISIS, NEHP, Draker Labs and SolarOne. The Fund focuses its investments in private growth-oriented businesses, primarily companies in close geographic proximity to Vermont. FreshTracks is an affiliate fund in the Village Ventures national network of funds, which collectively have close to $500 million in capital under management, directed by some 35 venture professionals in 14 distinct funds.

About Nathaniel Group, Inc.
Founded in 1984, Nathaniel Group is a design and manufacturing firm located in Vergennes, VT. They have been providing highly complex medical products to customers world-wide since 1987. They have a great deal of experience creating practical and elegant solutions to complex design and manufacturing problems. They are currently working on some very innovative technology and new product development in the scientific lighting and concentrated PV markets.

Draker Laboratories
22 North Street
Burlington, VT 05401

Rob Conboy
(802) 865-3866
rob@drakerlabs.com

Founded in 1999 as Draker Solar Design, Draker Laboratories™ today provides high-performance monitoring and data management systems for green power technologies, including: PV, wind, solar thermal, and hybrid energy systems

Campbell Scientific data acquisition and control products are used worldwide in research and industry. Our products are known for versatility, precision, and dependability—even in harsh, remote environments.

This release was published on openPR.