Plant Impact Regulatory News (PIM)

14 Apr 2008 07:00

Plant Impact PLC14 April 2008 Press release 14 April 2008 Plant Impact plc ("Plant Impact" or "the Company") Significant US marketing and distribution agreement signed - Following the successful conclusion of extensive field trials - Plant Impact plc (AIM:PIM), a global developer of technologies that improve cropproductivity by combating the negative effects of environmental stress, todayannounces that it has signed a significant, five-year agreement with MillerChemical & Fertilizer Corporation (Pennsylvania, US) ("Miller"), to market anddistribute three of Plant Impact's proprietary products, primarily in the US.Miller is a global manufacturer and distributor of specialty agriculturalproducts and fertilisers and the agreement has already resulted in the bookingof orders worth US$100,000. This is Plant Impact's first marketing and distribution agreement in the US andas such represents a significant milestone, increasing the global reach of theCompany's technologies and products. Under the agreement, Miller will market,distribute and provide branding support by displaying the Plant Impact logo onall products sold. In addition, this agreement allows for sales in otherterritories under the "Miller" brand name. Mike Fiery, National Product Manager of Miller Chemical & FertilizerCorporation, commented: "We are delighted to have signed this major agreementwith Plant Impact. Based on our evaluations and independent research, webelieve that Plant Impact's InCa and other products have significant potentialin boosting growers' production programmes". This agreement centres around 3 of Plant Impact products: • InCa - improved fruit quality, longer shelf life and resistance to climate stress using Plant Impact's proprietary CaT technology. • Cocoa Stress Tolerance "CST"- increased marketable yield in cocoa (chocolate) production using the proprietary Alethea(R) technology. • Balance - accelerated harvest and improved fruit quality using the proprietary SpeedoTM technology. Miller has a significant US network with access to over 400 distributorsnationwide. It also has international partners outside the US in countriesincluding Canada, several South and Central American countries, South Africa andAustralia. In addition to agricultural crops, Miller also supplies growers ofcommodity row crops such as cotton, corn grains and soybeans. Miller boasts astrong sales and technical team including 26 full-time sales representatives inthe US. Peter Blezard, CEO of Plant Impact, commented: "We are thrilled to sign ourfirst major USA marketing and distribution agreement with Miller Chemical &Fertilizer Corporation, a highly respected name in the specialty fertiliserindustry. The branding support, distribution network and contacts that Millerwill provide us with will be instrumental in pushing Plant Impact's technologiesforward in the agricultural markets both in the US and worldwide." Successful conclusion of extensive field trials This agreement follows the successful conclusion of extensive field trials byMiller on Plant Impact's InCa product. The results of the field trials,conducted on a variety of crops, are outlined below: • Better quality fruit, through the prevention of bitter pit - A trial using InCa demonstrated excellent control of bitter pit on the apple variety Honeycrisp, a high value crop with known susceptibility to this problem. Not only was InCa as good as the standard treatment but it offered the unique advantage of using 8 times less calcium than standard treatments, providing considerable environmental benefit. In addition, InCa application increased calcium levels in the fruit by over two-fold, improving nutritional benefits and storage life. • Appearance, through the prevention of Alfalfa Greening and Cork Spot - A trial on Anjou pears, commonly susceptible to severe physiological disorders due to calcium and nitrogen imbalance, showed that InCa significantly reduced Alfalfa Greening by up to 4 times at each harvest compared to the standard treatment. Cork Spot was almost totally eliminated through treatment with InCa. • Size - Trials on Golden Delicious apples demonstrated that treatment with InCa increased fruit size compared to standard treatments and significantly reduced variability of apple diameter, with 80% of the fruit on treated plants attaining a single size class. Maintaining a regular apple size is an important commercial consideration for the grower to ensure consistency of quality fruit. The amount of calcium applied to the crop was nearly 4.5 times lower with InCa compared to the standard treatment, offering real environmental gains to the grower. Soybean Field Trial A Miller field trial on soybeans proved the efficacy of InCa in reducing thenegative effects of drought stress on a soya crop by increasing the yield by17.5% from 2.69 t/ha to 3.16 t/ha. This is a significant development, as it is the first field trial conducted onarable crops using Plant Impact's InCa product. The three major soybean producing countries are the USA (29 million ha), Brazil(23 million ha) and Argentina (14 million ha). These three countries alone offersignificant commercial potential for the distribution of InCa. - Ends - For further information, please contact: Plant Impact plcMichael Panteli, Finance Director Tel: + 44 (0) 1772 333 873mike@plantimpact.com www.plantimpact.com Miller Chemical & Fertilizer CorporationMichael D. Fiery Tel: +1 717 632 8921mikefiery@millerchemical.com Grant Thornton Corporate FinanceNominated AdviserPhilip Secrett/Colin Aaronson Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100philip.j.secrett@gtuk.com www.gtuk.comcolin.p.aaronson@gtuk.com Hichens, Harrison & Co.Jeremy Chantry Tel: +44 (0) 20 7382 7791Jeremy.chantry@hichens.com www.hichens.com Fiske plcJames Harrison Tel: +44 (0) 20 7448 4700james.harrison@fiskeplc.com www.fiskeplc.com Media enquiries: Abchurch Communications LimitedJustin Heath / Ashley Tapp / Monique Tsang Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7712monique.tsang@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com About Plant Impact plc Plant Impact addresses the increasing global demand for effective, sustainableand ecologically-sound products to combat environmental plant stress and improvecrop productivity. Common environmental plant stresses include drought,salinity, nutrient deficiencies, pests and disease. Plant Impact's advancesproduce practical results that reduce inputs and benefit the whole of theagricultural value chain, providing solutions for growers, food manufacturersand consumers. A broad product portfolio has been developed using these innovative andproprietary technologies, the most advanced of which are already being marketedand sold through established agricultural distribution networks. Products forthe home and garden market are also distributed direct to consumers throughreputable high street stores. Current Plant Impact technologies include: • Alethea(R) - resistance to climate, water and salt stress • CaT - reduction of physiological disorders • SpeedoTM - accelerated plant growth • PiNTTM - higher yielding stronger plants • BugOil(R) - benign pest control For further information please visit www.plantimpact.com About Miller Chemical & Fertilizer Corporation Miller is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty agricultural chemicalproducts and foliar fertilizers. The company creates unique products andmarkets them alone or preferably in multi-product programmes to specialtyagriculture (primarily fruit and vegetable). Miller also has some involvementin the commodity row crop markets (cotton, corn, grains and soybeans). Approximately two-thirds of Miller's business is in the US and one-third isinternational, spread over 70 countries. In the US market Miller markets all ofits products through contracted distribution on a regional basis. Miller is a subsidiary of Alco Industries, Inc., an employee-owned corporationwhich consists of eight diversified manufacturing companies in the US, Canadaand the UK. Notes to Editors Bitter pit Bitter Pit is not a disease, but a physiological disorder caused by calciumdeficiency in the fruit, due to poor distribution of calcium within the tree.Bitter pit shows up as unsightly, small pitted bruises on fruit. Green blotch (alfalfa greening) The Alfalfa Greening condition is not well understood, but is thought to be aphysiological condition caused by calcium and nitrogen deficiencies. It causessunken dark-green blotches resulting in high levels of fruit rejection based onappearance at fruit harvest. Cork spot Cork Spot is a physiological disorder characterized by spherical dead areas inthe flesh on fruit and due to poor calcium translocation. It causes pears todevelop a bumpy, uneven surface as they approach maturity. The affected areasturn yellow and soften prematurely with the flesh turning brown or grey. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange