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Technology Stocks : VALENCE TECHNOLOGY (VLNC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Moerman who wrote (2000)	2/1/1998 11:23:00 AM
From: FMK	Respond to of 27311

Here are some recent posts on the AOL thread. From: Lorsan Message-id: <19980131151901.KAA08844@ladder02.news.aol.com> 1/31 At this point Valence has been focused on "production in Q1 1998". It is becoming more and more obvious that they have not been successful in getting there batteries "designed In" to any programs. (volume sales orders) At this point I would consider any licensing agreements to be a "Bail Out" not having obtained any orders. While this would provide some short term revenue, I think it would not portend well for the future of Valence Lorsan, It is my understanding that OEM's have been designing Valence batteries into their prototypes and have sought commitments for volume production for several months. I believe it has been more a matter of getting the laminate plant and production lines all working together under the same roof to be sure volume production can be sustained before accepting an order, and it seems overdue. When I learned of the decision to acquire the laminating equipment and to modify it for accurate control of the parameters that an outside supplier was not able keep within limits, my confidence increased that they were doing things right. The last time I heard any projections, Valence's capacity and sustainable rate of growth based on revenues from NI production were probably less than 5% of anticipated world demand for LI solid polymer. Licensing the technology to larger companies such as Sony would be a way to share some profits from the remaining 95% of world demand before the others build plants and acquire the capacity independently. As was mentioned during the AEA convention last fall, Valence could build a $100mln/yr plant for $200mln vs an estimated $700mln for others to start from scratch in Japan, with a much earlier startup. There are substantial savings to be shared under such an arrangement. By licensing the technology, however, the formulas and production techniques that took so long to develop would be turned over to the licensee with his agreement not to share the knowledge. This could have been the area of sensitivity for Valence personnel during negotiations last fall. From: Patrickrom Message-id: <19980201040300.XAA16052@ladder03.news.aol.com> FMK, <<It is my understanding that OEM's have been designing Valence batteries into their prototypes and have sought commitments for volume production for several months.>> From what sources do you derive this 'understanding'? And which OEMs have been doing the designing? Patrick Patrick, I just responded to your E-mail. Here are a few points that I sent you. Patrick, Lab samples of cellphone batteries and laptop batteries have been in the hands of OEM's since last summer or earlier. I posted at that time a large Cellphone mfr's hunger for the product and their apparent desire to tie up all of Valence's production. I didn't mention them by name because phone calls to a potential customer asking about a deal could very well blow the deal. Several Laptop mfr's are also on the list including four that were mentioned during the last conf. call, Again, pending deals with any of these OEM's could be blown if there is a suggestion that the company can't keep quiet about them before they are announced or disclose certain details even after they are announced. Remember that the dimensions of the two standard cells or resulting batteries have not changed in the last year. Today's batteries would therefore fit prototype designs by OEM's since then. The last time I spoke a certain Engineer at the company about 2 months ago, he stated that they have felt production was imminent for some time, but it seemed to take forever to iron out remaining small details. I prefer not to name my contacts for obvious reasons. Regards, F. M. Kellett