Tuesday December 9, 9:54 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Carrington Laboratories, Inc.
Carrington Laboratories Announces Plans to Double Production at Costa
Rica Plant
IRVING, Texas, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Carrington Laboratories, Inc., (Nasdaq: CARN - news), today announced plans to
increase production at its bulk manufacturing plant in Liberia, Costa Rica, in response to growing demand for the company's
products. Carrington's consumer products subsidiary Caraloe, Inc., has experienced an approximate 45 percent growth over
the last twelve months in raw materials used in the production of nutritional drinks containing natural complex carbohydrates
from Aloe vera L.
The worldwide demand for Manapol(R) powder, owned by Caraloe, Inc., and used in dietary supplements, nutraceuticals and
other health food products has been steadily increasing. Manapol(R) powder is licensed to a large international marketing
company exclusively for aloe drinks in Japan and is sold worldwide on a non-exclusive basis for other consumer products.
First phase of the production increase, the installation of a high speed filling line for nutritional drinks, is scheduled to be
completed in the first quarter of 1998. This line will be used to meet the increased demand for drinks from Aloe vera L. for
export to Japan and Europe. By using the Costa Rica plant, the company can respond more quickly to customer needs and
reduce shipping times.
The second phase of the planned production increase will be the acquisition of additional Aloe vera L. production acreage.
Currently, the company has more than 190 acres under production and anticipates the need for an added 200 to 250 acres.
Bill Pine, Caraloe general manager, stated, ''Projected sales for 1997 are approximately 45 percent over 1996. Additionally,
the contracts Caraloe has in place for 1998 will provide an increase of at least 40 percent over 1997.''
Carlton E. Turner, Carrington president and CEO, on his recent return from Costa Rica, added, ''With positive cash flow, a
recently acquired $3 million line of credit with Comerica Bank and over $3.5 million in cash, the company will be able to cover
the costs of the Costa Rica plant expansion, continue its R&D efforts with the reformulation of Aliminase(TM) for ulcerative
colitis, meet the requirements for wound care products in the U.S. market and the anticipated needs for Europe.''
In November, the company was inspected for ISO 9001 and anticipates it will receive the ''CE'' mark for its proprietary
wound care products in the first quarter of 1998. The CE mark is required before products made in Carrington's Dallas area
wound care manufacturing plant can be sold in the 15 countries making up the European Union (EU) and in the other
countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, that accept CE marked products. Currently, the company has one Class I
product cleared for marketing in the EU, Japan and South Korea.
Carrington Laboratories, Inc., is an emerging research-based pharmaceutical and medical device company engaged in
developing naturally- occurring, complex carbohydrates, other nature-based therapeutics and oral technology products; and in
manufacturing and marketing products for the management of wounds and for consumer products made from
naturally-occurring Aloe vera L. Carrington currently markets more than 70 application-specific products.
Certain statements in this release concerning Carrington may be forward- looking. Actual growth will be dependent upon a
number of factors and subject to a variety of risks including, but not limited to, the following: subsequent changes in plans by
the company's management; delays or problems in product development, clinical trials or the regulatory approval process;
changes in industry trends; actions of the Company's competitors; the extent to which the Company succeeds in marketing
existing and new products; and, a number of other factors and risks described from time to time in the Company's filings with
the Securities & Exchange Commission, including the Forms S-3 filed August 21, l997 and l0-Q filed November l4, 1997.
SOURCE: Carrington Laboratories, Inc. |
