THERMACELL TO BUILD FULL SCALE VAXCELL PRODUCTION FACILITY
SARASOTA, Fla., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ThermaCell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCLL, VCLLW) announced construction of its first full-scale VaxCell(TM) microsphere production facility. The facility will have annual capacity of approximately 10 million pounds and generate $30-$60 million in revenue.
John Pidorenko, Chairman, President and CEO of ThermaCell, said that the new plant would have a dramatic impact on earnings, starting in 2000. "The new facility will allow us to become a major player in the microsphere business, allow us to fulfill our customer needs, and supply our needs to manufacture our ThermaCool brand line of insulation enhanced paints, coatings and building materials," he explained.
VaxCell microspheres are microscopically small, evacuated spheres of glass that can be used as a more effective and less expensive material to increase insulation value, reduce weight and increase strength of a wide variety of products and materials.
Mr. Pidorenko said today's development was made possible by Bridgewater Capital Corp. of Newport Beach, CA, who last week announced it is helping ThermaCell raise the necessary capital to implement its strategic plan and advance its aggressive acquisition strategy. "Today's development also follows the successful evaluation by customers, starting earlier this month, of our microspheres," said Mr. Pidorenko.
The new, 26,000 square foot facility will be built at the Sarasota International Trade Center by HalfAcre Construction of Sarasota, FL, who will lease it back to ThermaCell. The building will house a 20,000 square foot, automated VaxCell plant, which will require only five employees to staff, as well as corporate headquarters and research and development, for a total of 30 employees.
Construction is scheduled to begin August 1, 1999 on land that can accommodate an additional 35,000 square feet of space for future expansion. The plant, which will feature the latest manufacturing equipment available, will be "market driven" to produce VaxCells to meet the exact specifications of different customers at the best possible price.
"Between now and when the larger facility opens, the Company will continue to send out sample microsphere shipments for evaluation," said Mr. Pidorenko. "We believe that this process will save the Company time and money because products as well as manufacturing techniques will have been defined well in advance of plant construction."
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