Carmanah Technologies Corp. (TSX.V: CMH)
News Release - May 13, 2004
CARMANAH BREAKS 800 UNIT MILESTONE FOR SOLAR-POWERED
LED CROSSWALK SYSTEMS INSTALLED IN THE UK AND EUROPE
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Thursday, May 13, 2004 -
Carmanah Technologies Corporation (TSX Venture: CMH) is pleased to
announce that it has sold an additional $110,000 worth of its "Dual
Flash IQ" solar-powered LED crosswalk lighting systems through its
U.K. distribution partner, Solagen Ltd. Since introducing the
technology in July 2001, Carmanah has now sold approximately 870 Dual
Flash IQ crosswalk flashers to over 40 transportation authorities in
the U.K. and Europe through Solagen.
"We are pleased with the ongoing interest in our technology in the
U.K. market," said Art Aylesworth, Carmanah's CEO. "Widespread field
trials in the past few years are starting to pay off as cities
discover our cost advantages over hard-wired lighting. We are now
poised to reproduce this success in the North American market."
The Dual Flash IQ units are school crossing flashers, also known as
"waggers" or "wig-wags" by British street lighting engineers, that
are placed 50 meters from school crossings to warn approaching
traffic that children may be crossing the road ahead. Using
Carmanah's signature solar/LED technologies, the Dual Flash IQ
products were introduced into the U.K. and European markets for
extensive field trials in 2001. In April 2002, they were voted
runner up in the category "INNOVATIONS: Contribution to
Sustainability" at the UK Lighting Industry Design Awards. In
September 2002, they became the only solar-powered, LED-illuminated
wagger to receive official "Type Approval" from the U.K. Highways
Agency - a critical step for widespread use.
In February of this year, Carmanah's introduced its crosswalk
technology to North America as the Model R829 School Zone Beacon and
the Model R820 Pedestrian Beacon. The City of Victoria, British
Columbia, became the first North American city to install the R820,
the latest in a series of Carmanah road lighting innovations to come
to North America following early success in the U.K.
Carmanah's self-contained solar-powered crosswalk beacons can be
installed in just 30 minutes and for as little as one-tenth the cost
of conventionally powered lights, with no cabling, trenching or
electrical connections required. Once installed, they operate for up
to eight years with no operational or maintenance costs. Carmanah's
proprietary MicroSource™ electronics ensure reliable operation
virtually anywhere in the world by automatically tuning light output
and charging to local environmental conditions. To operate reliably,
the lights require only two hours of peak sunlight per day and have
the capacity to operate up to 30 days without additional solar
charging. The high-efficiency LEDs have a lifespan of at least
100,000 hours, or approximately 40 years of operation.
For more information about Carmanah's full line of solar-powered LED
roadway and construction lighting, visit www.roadlights.com.
ABOUT CARMANAH
Carmanah is an award winning alternative energy manufacturer
specializing in patented solar-powered LED lighting solutions for the
roadway, marine, transit, aviation, railway and industrial worksite
markets. The Company currently has more than 90,000 units installed
in 110 countries. The shares of Carmanah Technologies Corporation
(parent company) are publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange
under the symbol "CMH" and on the Berlin and Frankfurt Stock
Exchanges under the symbol "QCX". For more information, please visit
www.carmanah.com. |
