News

Macon gets kiosk plant

March 27, 2002

MARKHAM, Ontario - Power Interactive Media Inc. (OTCBB:PIAM), developer and marketer of infotainment kiosks, made a joint announcement with Macon Bibb County officials of the company's plans to build a $7.5 million manufacturing facility in Bibb County, Ga.

At the ceremony, speakers welcoming Power Interactive Media to the Macon area included C. Jack Ellis, mayor of Macon; Calder Pinkston, chairman of the Macon Bibb County Industrial Authority (MBCIA); Calder Clay, Bibb County Commissioner and Eugene C. Dunwody, Sr., vice chairman of the Macon Economic Development Commission (MEDC).

Representing the company were Terry Cooke, president and CEO; Allan Turowetz, VP and author/publisher; Jean Belliveau, director and NHL Hall of Famer; June Nichols-Sweeney, director and former deputy director of the Small Business Administration; John Mackey, member of the advisory board and NFL Hall of Famer and special guest speaker Jack Kemp, former NFL quarterback and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and a consultant to the company.

The ceremony included the signing of the lease by Power Interactive for the 10 acre future site of its manufacturing facility, planned to employ up to 300 when completed in early 2002. The MBCIA will assist Power Interactive Media with a favorable land/site location, infrastructure assistance, industrial revenue bond financing for up to $10 million and a special tax schedule.

Power Interactive Media will also be eligible for state BEST legislation incentives, including Job Tax Credit and Sales Tax Exemption on Manufacturing Equipment. Bibb County also offers a 100 percent Freeport Exemption on qualifying inventories. Power Interactive Media will also receive Quick Start training from the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, and the Macon Economic Development Commission will develop a relocation program for members of the Power Interactive Media team relocating to Macon.

Recently, Power Interactive Media announced that it was setting up Mario Lemieux branded photo kiosks in the Mellon Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, for the Stanley Cup quarterfinals, and that it was planning to deploy the kiosks throughout the Pittsburgh area. The kiosks allow consumers to take a digital picture and incorporate it with a photo of the hockey star.

Power Interactive Media Inc. was formed to develop and manufacture a digital photo-imaging module to showcase a point-of-purchase advertising delivery system.

Its photo kiosks let consumers put themselves in the picture with their choice of celebrities. The kiosks use images licensed from the National Football League, World Wrestling Federation, National Hockey League, Mattel and Universal Studios. In addition to photo revenue, the kiosks generate revenues from corporate advertising, data collection and consumer entertainment.