VeriChip Corp. Completes Initial VeriChip Product Shipments in First Quarter 2003
PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2003--
VeriChip(TM) inventories shipped to VeriChip's exclusive
distributor in Mexico and ten U.S.-based
Authorized VeriChip Centers in seven states
Miami-based journalist decides to Get Chipped(TM)
Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSX) an advanced technology development company, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, VeriChip Corporation, has completed initial product shipments to the Company's exclusive distributor in Mexico and to ten Authorized VeriChip Centers based in the United States.
The product shipments to Mexico fulfilled the initial purchase quota contained in the exclusive VeriChip distribution agreement, announced last October, with Sistemas de Proteccion Integral de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (SPIMSA), a large private security company in Mexico City, Mexico which is marketing VeriChip through its SoluSat subsidiary. The agreement calls for a minimum purchase quota in excess of $9 million through the end of 2006.
The initial product shipments to SoluSat - consisting of 1,000 implantable VeriChips and 100 proprietary scanners - were completed in the first quarter of 2003. If annual minimum sales quotas are met, SoluSat will retain the exclusive right to distribute VeriChip and related products in Mexico.
Established over 15 years ago, SPIMSA Corporation provides clients with a range of security-related services, including building access control, personal security, and security consulting. SPIMSA's client base includes some 150 major corporate entities, along with various agencies of government at the federal, state and local levels in Mexico. Marketing and distribution efforts involving VeriChip are expected to be widespread geographically in Mexico, covering a diverse mix of potential customers and meeting a range of needs in the areas of access security and emergency identification.
In the United States, shipments of initial VeriChip inventories have been completed to ten Authorized VeriChip Centers, enabling these Centers to begin local VeriChip marketing efforts. Authorized VeriChip Centers are now located in the following cities: Chandler, AZ; Boca Raton, FL; Naples, FL; Port St Lucie, FL; Sunrise (Broward County), FL; Bethesda, MD; New York City, NY; North Charleston, SC; San Antonio, TX; and McLean, VA. For more detailed information on these Centers, visit www.adsx.com.
The Company also announced that Angela Swafford, a Miami-based journalist, became the first journalist to Get Chipped(TM) in March. The Company explained that Ms. Swafford volunteered for the brief, outpatient procedure while working on a VeriChip story for a major media outlet. Her story is expected to be released in the near future. The chipping procedure was performed by Dr. Harvey Kleiner at The Family Health Place, the Authorized VeriChip Center located in Sunrise (Broward County), FL. Ms. Swafford issued the following statement:
Statement from Angela Swafford, first journalist to Get Chipped:
"When it comes to reporting on stories, I like to get as involved as possible in the science behind them. I have been known to lend my body to science, from participating in NASA hypergravity tests, to having my brain scanned by neurologists trying new imaging techniques at MIT. All in the name of exploration of new frontiers ... and of good stories. When offered the opportunity to be chipped, it occurred to me that I could tell this story in a unique way. I think the technology is tremendously exciting, with applications that defy our wildest dreams. This chip is quietly heralding a time when humans will literally have technology under the skin."
About SPIMSA
Sistemas de Proteccion Integral de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (SPIMSA) and Grupo Consultores en Seguridad S.A. de C.V. is a group based in Mexico since 1988 offering security services to more than 150 companies, including Procter & Gambel, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Kimberly Clark and Aranzia, with more than 800 security guards and 35 administrative personnel. Leading SPIMSA is Enrique Gonzalez as General Director with more than 40 years of experience in security. To promote and to market VeriChip and other Applied Digital Solutions products in Mexico, SPIMSA is creating a new Subsidiary - Soluciones de Localizacion Satelital, S. de R.L. de C.V. For more information, contact Antonio Aceves (tel: 52 55 5401-3933/email: gongaby@prodigy.net.mx).
About VeriChip(TM)
VeriChip is a miniaturized radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, financial, emergency identification and other applications. About the size of a grain of rice, each VeriChip product contains a unique verification number and will be available in several formats, some of which will be insertable under the skin. The verification number is captured by briefly passing a proprietary scanner over the VeriChip. A small amount of radio frequency energy passes from the scanner energizing the dormant VeriChip, which then emits a radio frequency signal transmitting the verification number. VeriChip Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions.
About Applied Digital Solutions, Inc.
Applied Digital Solutions is an advanced technology development company that focuses on a range of life-enhancing, personal safeguard technologies, early warning alert systems, miniaturized power sources and security monitoring systems combined with the comprehensive data management services required to support them. Through its Advanced Technology Group, the Company specializes in security-related data collection, value-added data intelligence and complex data delivery systems for a wide variety of end users including commercial operations, government agencies and consumers. Applied Digital Solutions is the beneficial owner of a majority position in Digital Angel Corporation (AMEX:DOC). For more information, visit the Company's website at adsx.com.
Statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.
CONTACT:
Applied Digital Solutions Inc.
Investor Contact, Lori Alexander, 561/805-8013
investor@adsx.com
or
Ovations
Media Contact, Matthew Cossolotto, 914/245-9721
matthew@ovations.com
SOURCE: Applied Digital Solutions, Inc.
Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your home page. URL: businesswire.com
04/04/2003 08:54 EASTERN |
