Biome Tech Regulatory News (BIOM)

2 May 2006 14:00

Stanelco PLC02 May 2006 2nd May 2006 Stanelco plc ("Stanelco" or "the Group") AGM Statement At today's AGM, Philip Lovegrove, Chairman of Stanelco, made the followingcomments: Stanelco's flagship technologies, GREENSEAL and Starpol, are increasingly at theforefront of areas of major political debate and direction in Europe and theUnited States largely as a result of the current upswing in the global price ofoil. There is an increasing focus in the US on sustainability while in Europethe focus is on broader environmental responsibility. GREENSEAL permits large scale recyclability of oil based plastics and is energyefficient, whilst Starpol is the world's leading product in sustainablepackaging materials that gives, in the case of Starpol 3000, a 100% sustainable,biodegradable, low cost, functional alternative to conventional plastic. Thesetechnologies appear to be without parallel in their respective markets. Both are on the cusp of full commercialisation and our major task now is thefulfilment of the commercial potential that these technologies both offer.Stanelco is in the highest level negotiation with some of the largest companiesin the world. Timescales are inevitably longer than working with smallercompanies, but the desire in these organisations for our products is such thatwe are progressing through the red tape as quickly as possible and the rewardsfor success at the end will be very much worth the effort. Over the last year we have continued to develop the business and itsintellectual property portfolio, most notably with the acquisition of the BiotecGroup, which enhances our capability to develop a wide range of environmentallybeneficial products and solutions for the international packaging industry. Thisis illustrated by our integral involvement with the Wal Mart Sustainable ValueNetwork (SVN) in the United States, which provides an excellent platform fromwhich to explore the future packaging requirements for retailers. We have continued to develop and pursue the commercialisation of GREENSEAL, ourradio frequency (RF) sealing platform technology. This has taken longer thaninitially anticipated due to several complexities that have delayed theintroduction of the technology, including the capacity of the food packagingindustry to allow conversion of machines. However the challenges that have beenmet and overcome set us in good stead to roll out this technology both in the UKand in the US. Over the long run we have the ability to make up any shortfallwithin our roll out program. We continue to work with and be supported by ASDAin establishing this technology. We have amended our strategy to assist the enduser with a combination of temporary machinery and by having dedicated teamsavailable to fine tune the R&D elements. Importantly the technology is now alsobeing applied to the area of vertical-form-fill-seal packaging, for example withsalad bags, which opens up our technology to another food packaging market whichis less complex than tray lidders and thermoformers. We remain confident thatGREENSEAL will emerge as a commercial, revolutionary product within thepackaging industry in the years ahead. Biodegradable products are currently another significant area of developmentwithin the business. Following the acquisition of Biotec we are able to developand offer the Starpol range of environmental, sustainable materials within ourportfolio. We are working with some of the world's leading organisations with aview to establishing micro manufacturing plants that will share the investmentin plant and facilities while ensuring that we can expand our productioncapability to keep pace with customers' increasing supply needs for the Starpolrange of materials. As announced on 14 February 2006, Starpol 2000 now has therelevant US FDA approval, along with its European equivalent. Starpol 3000 isexpected to be confirmed as fully compliant under the same regulation and weexpect approval in turn for this within weeks - as with another of our productsStarpol Wrap which is an ideal product to replace waxed paper for burger wrapand other deli counter applications. We continue to develop our relationship with Wal Mart through the SVN and theyhave provided us with 23 specific projects on which to work in partnership usingour various technologies. Following a recent participation in the US at aninternal exhibition of Wal Mart suppliers where buyers and their suppliers wereable to view our full product portfolio, yet more interest in our product range,including Frogpacks and Pulsline, was expressed both amongst the suppliers andat a senior level in Wal Mart. In addition last week Stanelco had theopportunity to demonstrate to a senior contingent of the Wal Mart meat team acommercial installation of GREENSEAL currently being trialled at Grampian Foodsnear Manchester. The process demonstrated all of the advantages of GREENSEAL. Wewere able to show the latest development of Starpol 3000 along with Starpol 2000and Starpol Wrap 100.The meat area at Wal Mart has been identified as the firstarea to trial Starpol 2000,3000 and Wrap products. Further discussions will takeplace during this week to clarify trial details. On 14 December 2005 we announced our agreement with Perseco, the internationalleader in packaging and supply chain services to the food service and beverageindustries. We have a number of meetings in the US next week in order to moveour exciting project in the fast food sector forward, in particular to endeavourto finalise details with regard to vertical integration into their supply chainby establishing Micro Manufacturing Facilities. In other areas we have appointed a number of agents to market other products inour range such as the FrogPack and Frog Mat, and our security label Pulsline. Wecontinue to develop the sales infrastructure to penetrate target markets. Wealso continue to plan for the increase in facilities to meet the business needsgoing forward. The Board recognises the obstacles it faces in converting opportunities intocommercial contracts but is confident with the strengthened management team inplace it will meet these challenges. We have developed partnerships and keyrelationships with world leading organisations, and we continue to believe thatour intellectual property portfolio will revolutionise the packaging industry. Philip Lovegrove Chairman Ends For further information please contact: Martin Wagner, Chief Executive OfficerStanelco PLCTel: +44 (0)2380 867 100 Jonathon Brill/Billy CleggFinancial DynamicsTel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113 About Stanelco plc The Stanelco Group of companies (the Group) has brought together expertise inradio frequency (RF) technology, RF applications and biodegradable materialsciences to create a revolutionary range of packaging technologies. Stanelco's philosophy is that new products and processes must offer solutionsand applications which: - give higher added value, - are greener, more environmentally sustainable than those they replace and - have protectable intellectual property rights. Stanelco will develop the products and processes to a demonstration stage andthen work with partners in order to reach the markets; and under thesecircumstances Stanelco will usually seek to license its technology. Stanelcoinvests considerable time and resources in ensuring its technologies areprotected via layers of patents wherever possible. In this way Stanelco believes it can minimise commercial risk and preserve thehighest value for shareholders. The products offering the prospect of near term revenue generation are beinggiven priority over the Group's resources. Stanelco was founded in 1953 and is a world leader in the development of radiofrequency technologies for processing polymers for edible and packagingapplications and the design and manufacture of optical fibre technology,induction heating and dielectric welding equipment. Stanelco's currentdevelopments include GREENSEAL Food tray lidding technology, STARPOL (starch /pva blended material), STARPOL 2000 (highly functional, low cost biodegradablepackaging material with food contact approvals) FrogPack high impact low costpackaging format, CradleWrap range of biodegradable air cushion packaging,Soluble tape, 100% water-soluble films and adhesives, Biodegradable Airbag (voidfill) packaging, edible hard-shell capsule technology, water-soluble detergentcapsules, edible sachets and waste packing. GREENSEAL, STARPOL, FrogPack and CradleWrap are all trademarks of the Stanelcoplc group. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange