FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALPHA EXPANDS EUROPEAN PRESENCE

London and Hamburg, April 27, 2001 - The Alpha Group of Companies has expanded its presence in the European region by forming a joint venture with MAS Elektronik AG. This venture will help Alpha further strengthen its support of the European market.

MAS Elektronik AG will be promoting and servicing Alpha’s Broadband and DC Products throughout Russia, CIS and Baltic countries, building on its extensive experience with the existing products and clients. MAS has been exceptionally successful in providing cost effective solutions for several markets and applications including the rapidly growing telecommunications sector. The MAS team can provide support from the conceptual stage to engineering and right up to installation and after-sales-support. Both companies believe that the combination of well established Alpha products with the capabilities and strong service orientation of the MAS organization will benefit its collective customers and also continue the impressive growth over the past years.

MAS Elektronik AG is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Its seven subsidiaries cover most of Europe and Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia as well as large parts of China. MAS has entered into exclusive arrangements with world class technology leaders such as Cnet Technology, Umax Systems, Alpha Technologies and several others. The product offering ranges from network products, digital processors and power systems to all aspects of customer support and after-sales service.

Alpha Technologies Inc. develops power conversion, protection and standby products for telecommunications and cable television industries, including custom, application-specific power solutions. In addition to product development, Alpha Technologies provides a comprehensive range of installation and maintenance services to support its global customer base. Alpha Technologies is a member of The Alpha Group of companies.

The Alpha Group represents a global alliance of independent companies that share a common philosophy - create world-class powering solutions for communication, commercial, industrial and renewable energy markets.

For this and/or additional information in electronic form, go to www.alpha.com.