Core Blade Server

The Pantry Inc. Goes Green with the Implementation of New Energy Efficient Data Center designed by Altruent Systems

Raleigh, N.C. (October 15, 2008)-- - Altruent Systems, a systems integration company headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. that specializes in the consulting, design, and installation of mission-critical infrastructure, announced today, that the firm has completed a new energy efficient data center for Sanford-based The Pantry Inc., (NASDAQ:PTRY). Altruent Systems was selected to design, engineer and construct The Pantry's new data center with state-of-the-art infrastructure that allows for energy savings on power and cooling.

With rising energy costs now becoming a major concern for most large organizations, the interest in reducing data center and IT energy, where the majority of a company's utility costs are incurred, is now becoming a necessity. "Green" organizations, such as LEED and Green Grid, are stirring interest within C- level executives to turn their companies into eco-friendly, energy efficient consumers and producers.

When The Pantry decided that it was time to expand their headquarters' data center, Ed Collupy, VP of Information Technology commented, "we saw an opportunity to take advantage of new power and cooling technologies, which were environmentally friendly yet more productive."

The Pantry had already begun taking advantage of new computing technologies such as blade servers, whereas one server chassis consists of multiple circuit boards, or ‘blades', that each act as an individual server. This allows more computing power in a smaller space, which drastically reduces power consumption, but results in highly concentrated, or ‘high density' heat output. The ability to capture and remove this concentrated heat, in order to maintain an optimal temperature requires a new approach to data center design. With this in mind, The Pantry chose Altruent Systems for their proficiency in high-density data center design using APC's (American Power Conversion) scalable InfraStruXure® architecture.

Altruent's design and construction of The Pantry's data center allowed The Pantry to make a significant contribution to Energy and Atmosphere conservation and preservation. This is done by using multiple InRow, ‘close-coupled' cooling units, which eliminates the need for an inefficient raised floor, and places the cooling units closer to the servers. This captures the heat directly from an intentional ‘hot aisle' and distributes cool air to the ‘cold aisle'. This prevents the hot and cold air from mixing, which highly improves cooling efficiency, and thus reduces the total energy required to maintain the proper temperature. With the implementation of such a system, The Pantry was able to greatly increase their computing capacity and reliability, while simultaneously going Green!

"Working together with Altruent, we successfully transformed an outdated data center into one that will carry us forward for many years to come," said Collupy. "These initiatives have positioned The Pantry for continued technology growth along with an outlook towards smart energy-related controls."

While more and more companies such as The Pantry are looking towards a "Greener" future, it's no wonder why companies like Altruent Systems are being selected to reconfigure, design and provide solutions to outdated data centers. With energy costs rising and many companies trying to incorporate a green ideology within their business model, it makes sense to start going green at the core of your business, where most energy is consumed -- the data center.

Brad Thompson, Project Engineer for Altruent Systems said, "Technology is constantly evolving, and our job is to stay on top of state-of-the-art innovations from the industry leading professionals, in order to provide our customers with the best possible solutions available."

About The Pantry Inc.:
Headquartered in Sanford, North Carolina, The Pantry, Inc. is the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States and one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country, with revenues for fiscal 2007 of approximately $6.9 billion. As of February 22, 2008, the Company operated 1,644 stores in eleven states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express, its primary operating banner. The Company's stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, as well as gasoline and other ancillary services designed to appeal to the convenience needs of its customers.
About Altruent Systems:
Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Altruent Systems Inc. is a systems integration firm providing consulting, design and installation of mission-critical, power and cooling infrastructure. To learn more about how your company can benefit from an energy efficient data center, visit www.Altruent.com, or call 1-888-843-9392.

IBM BladeCenter: The Right Choice