Spark Power Advances U.S. Longer-Term Expansion Strategy Through Designation of New U.S. Corporate Head Office and Planned Branch Openings

OAKVILLE, ON, April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Spark Power Group Inc. (TSX: SPG, SPG.WT), parent company to Spark Power Corp. ("Spark Power" or the "Company"), a leading independent provider of integrated power solutions to industrial, commercial, and institutional customers across North America, today announced key elements of its U.S. Expansion strategy, focused on further diversifying its business outside of its core Canadian markets and supporting longer-term growth.

"Today, approximately 90% of Spark Power's revenue is generated in Canada with the bulk of that coming from Ontario," said Jason Sparaga, co-founder and co-CEO of Spark Power Corp. "As part of our longer-term growth strategy, we are looking to grow and diversify revenue in new markets across North America but recognize that the U.S. represents a significant expansion opportunity for Spark. We recently established a corporate head office, added U.S. focused personnel, to supplement the expertise we already have at the senior management and board level, and hired a third-party market research firm to identify regions of interest and initial focus. Longer term, we expect the U.S. market to account for an increasingly larger share of total corporate revenue."

In 2018, Spark Power advanced its U.S. strategy by:

• opening its first location in Minnesota under the Northwind brand, focused on Renewables Operation and Maintenance; and
• acquiring the California operations of New Electric, including branches in Fresno and Fremont, establishing a presence in the Western U.S.

Spark has now established its new U.S. Corporate Head Office in Raleigh, NC.  The facility will also be home to a new operating branch offering high and low voltage technical services in the region.  Under the leadership of a recently hired branch manager, operational ramp-up is actively underway and business development activities are being conducted from the location. 

"We chose Raleigh as the location for our U.S. Corporate Head Office because of its reputation for welcoming innovation, proximity to an established and growing industrial, commercial, and institutional base, the presence of key OEM's in the area, and its central location on the eastern seaboard," said Richard Jackson, COO of Spark Power. "We view Raleigh as the ideal gateway to begin accessing a broader array of opportunities across the southeastern U.S. including both regular technical service work, as well as storm recovery initiatives."

To support its U.S. growth strategy, Spark Power has hired Mark Lyons as its U.S. Vice President & General Manager leading its Technical Services platform.  Mark is an experienced leader with more than 25 years of U.S operational management experience in the electrical industry.  Mark joins Spark having worked with equipment manufacturers and service providers with operations in the U.S. including Eaton Corp., Moeller Electric, and Rockwell Automation (Sprecher+Schuh).  Having full P&L responsibility, Mark will focus on the orderly rollout of new branches, key market identification, acquisition opportunities, and organic growth opportunities with existing customers.

As part of the original New Electric Canadian transaction in January 2017, Spark Power acquired New Electric's proprietary back-office operating platform and continues to employ a branch model that centralizes core business functions at the head office level. The Company intends to increase its presence in the U.S. market through a combination of new branch openings and acquisitions. Spark Power has a number of Canadian industrial, commercial, and institutional customers that also have facilities in the U.S. and intends to prioritize openings in regions where there are opportunities to expand existing relationships and begin servicing these customers in new jurisdictions.

As an example, in mid-2018, existing Toronto-based customer FGF Brands ("FGF") acquired a new facility in San Antonio, TX with the goal of bringing its track record of quality and innovation in the baked goods space to the U.S. Building on a successful relationship in the Ontario market, Spark is exploring supporting FGF's electrical solutions needs in this new market. Spark expects that FGF would serve as an anchor customer in the central Texas region as the Company builds out a New Electric branch. Spark has already begun the process of securing industrial-commercial space for the proposed branch and is in the process of hiring a Branch Manager.

"FGF leverages advanced manufacturing technology to bring wholesome and high-quality foods to market with speed and scale, and we needed a power solutions partner that could keep pace," said Tejus Ajmera, co-founder of FGF Brands. "Spark Power has been a trusted provider to FGF in Canada offering integrated solutions for our low, medium and high-voltage power infrastructure as well as engineering, process and automation expertise. With this entry into the Texas market, Spark is now able to support us across multiple geographies, proving themselves to be true partners with FGF."

About Spark Power Corp.
Spark Power Corp. (TSX: SPG, SPG.WT) is a leading independent provider of integrated power solutions to industrial, commercial and institutional customers across North America.  Spark Power's 750+ employees help deliver powerful solutions that reduce costs, make the environment a priority and empower our 6,500 + customers to transition to the grid of the future. Learn more at www.sparkpowercorp.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect Spark Power's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. These statements are based on Spark Power's expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the future success of Spark Power's long-term growth strategy and execution thereof and, in particular, it's United States growth strategy business development and execution thereof by Messrs. Sparaga and Jackson.

The forward-looking statements in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, Spark Power assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Spark Power Group Inc.