FiberChem and Intrex Announce Joint Venture With Inepar of Brazil
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2000--FiberChem Inc. (OTCBB:FOCS) announced that its subsidiary, Intrex Data Communications Corp., has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Inepar Telecom LTDA., of Curitiba Parana, Brazil.
The MOU will form the basis of an agreement for a business venture between the two companies and will be part of the merged businesses of FiberChem and Intrex to be renamed DecisionLink.
The joint business venture will give DecisionLink access to Inepar's marketing expertise, telecommunications systems and licensees in Brazil and other Latin American countries. The venture will give Inepar access to Intrex's SensorFusion(TM) industrial products and wireless solutions.
DecisionLink and Inepar plan to develop the propane monitoring, aboveground and underground storage tank and pipeline markets. Of particular interest to both companies is the automatic meter reading market utilizing Intrex's recently announced plans for the AMRPowerLink products.
Inepar is a 30-year-old company with business interests and products in the telecommunications, satellite, power, petroleum and transportation industries. Inepar is a shareholder in DAMOS SudAmerica, the ORBCOMM licensee for Brazil and seven other Latin America countries.
Inepar also is a licensee for cellular phone services and two-way paging services within Brazil and other Latin American markets.
Geoff Hewitt, chairman and chief executive officer of FiberChem, said: "The signing of the MOU with Inepar continues the expansion of DecisionLink's corporate strategy of global deployment of low-cost SensorFusion(TM) technology in high-volume markets. We are extremely pleased to be associated with a company such as Inepar and its numerous and diverse potential market applications.
"We see this as ground-floor opportunity to establish DecisionLink's SensorFusion(TM) and PetroSense(R) technology in this increasingly environmentally conscious region, particularly in light of recent environmental incidents in that part of the world."
David Peachey, president and COO of FiberChem, said: "Our alliance with Inepar is a great opportunity to introduce our SensorFusion(TM) products to the South American market. It is the first step in taking the newly integrated FiberChem/Intrex products and systems to markets outside of North America. Having strong and experienced partners like Inepar will go a long way to helping us succeed in the market place.
"The relationship with Inepar will provide us with access to other communication and satellite systems in Latin America, which we may not otherwise have. We look forward to working with Inepar to jointly develop new markets for both of us."
Helcio Gaertner, director of Inepar Telecom LTDA., said: "We are looking forward to entering into a Joint Venture with DecisionLink and intend to accomplish this as soon as possible."
Intrex is a wholly owned subsidiary of FiberChem and provides proprietary Internet and communications technology for communicating data to or from remote or mobile assets on a real-time basis using wireless, satellite and cellular data systems.
Data is routed through Intrex's global network which acts as a data gateway and applications service provider, allowing customers to monitor and control remote or mobile assets such as propane tanks, gas wells, pipelines, compressors, storage tanks, offshore platforms or service vehicles directly from a desktop PC.
Intrex is a licensed reseller of the ORBCOMM Global L.P., the world's first commercial provider of global low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite data communication services. ORBCOMM is owned by Teleglobe Inc. (NYSE:TGO; Toronto) and Orbital Sciences Corp. (NYSE:ORB-news).
Intrex also has communications agreements that provide satellite services through Norcom Inc. as well as digital cellular services.
FiberChem Inc.'s Environmental Division develops, manufactures, markets and licenses fiber optic chemical sensors that produce continuous, real-time information of environmental pollutants in the air, water and soil.
These technologies are currently used in applications such as pipeline leak detection, aboveground storage tank monitoring, oil production, water quality monitoring and industrial wastewater compliance monitoring and control. |
