VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — (Marketwired) — 10/14/14 — EnWave Corporation (TSX VENTURE: ENW)(FRANKFURT: E4U) (“EnWave”, or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on four of its key business areas.
Patent Portfolio for REV Technology
EnWave–s royalty business model incorporates a grant of exclusive use of REV technology to its commercial licensees that follows from the strength of the Company–s intellectual property portfolio. The Company strives to continuously develop new technological innovations, both platform and product related, with the goal of creating additional value for EnWave shareholders and for its current and future licensees.
EnWave holds or has filed 17 separate patents that protect both its REV technology and specific methods of use. Each of the nine patents that have been granted have been approved in at least two major global jurisdictions. Since June 30, 2013, nine additional new geographic patent approvals have been allowed, including patent approvals for the Company–s nutraREV®, bioREV®, powderREV® and quantaREV® platforms. EnWave–s patent suite now consists of twenty-five patent approvals protecting its REV technology in the United States (“U.S.”), Canada, the European Union, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Chile and Australia. The Company currently has an additional forty-six patent approvals pending in multiple geographic jurisdictions that now also include Brazil, India, Japan and Mexico.
EnWave–s nutraREV® platform and method of use patent was approved in Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Chile during the period of October 2011 to April 2014, broadening the coverage of EnWave–s most commercialized platform throughout a total of six countries. The bioREV® platform and method of use patent was approved in the U.S. and Canada in May and July 2014 respectively. Furthermore, the patent protecting both the powderREV® and quantaREV® method of use for dehydrating organic materials was granted in China in July 2014. The patent protecting the method for producing hydrocolloid foams using REV technology has been granted in Australia, Canada, China, Chile, the U.S. and the European Union. This patent can protect the drying of many products across much of EnWave–s major addressable markets including the food, pharmaceutical and industrial areas. Lastly, the patent protecting the method for dehydrating vaccines using vacuum microwave technology was approved in Canada, China, and Hong Kong, and last month was allowed in the U.S., providing more value to EnWave–s patent suite as it continues to work with its three pharmaceutical partners.
EnWave–s continuous pursuit of new patents, or new jurisdictions for existing patents, serves to further strengthen the patent portfolio and the royalty business model.
Hans Binder Maschinenbau GmbH (“Binder”)
Binder–s contracted machine order book for fiscal year 2014 now totals over 5 million euros (C $7 million) in value. This is a material improvement from an order book of less than 140,000 euros (C $200,000) at the time of EnWave–s acquisition of Binder in October 2012. The improvement is a result of Binder–s management team expanding its sales efforts and focusing on restoring the order book to more historically traditional levels. The management team continues to negotiate and pursue prospective new contracts and to further build this order book for the remainder of 2014 and for 2015. Binder is now positioned to be cash positive. Binder will continue to be a valuable vehicle for future European sales of EnWave–s REV technology and will focus its own sales efforts on securing further conventional air dryer projects.
NutraDried LLP (“NutraDried”)
NutraDried is gaining positive momentum following the successful start-up and operation of its 100kW nutraREV® plant in Ferndale, Washington State. NutraDried–s first sale, in October, 2013 was to DPI Specialty Foods, which places Moon Cheese® in a number retail outlets including Fred Meyer and QFC stores located in the Pacific Northwest. Since that initial sale, the number of distributors and end purchasers who supply or sell NutraDried–s Moon Cheese® has grown to eighteen. While this sales growth is in its early stages, the trend in the number of purchasers and the volumes purchased continues to be quite favourable.
In September, EnWave announced receipt of the first private-label order for 12,000 pounds of NutraDried–s 100% natural, crunchy cheese snack product. This first order is expected to enter the major private-label customer–s distribution system over the next two months. While these product trials have not commenced, NutraDried has received a second order for an additional 13,000 pounds of product. NutraDried expects to receive early indicators pertaining to the initial launch by early 2015, which will be more telling of the near term impact this account will have on sales.
EnWave Partners Update
EnWave is currently working with over 40 companies at varying stages of the sales process. Many are testing the merits of REV technology for a diverse range of applications that include food, pharmaceutical and industrial end products. Of the companies that are evaluating REV technology, several commercial license opportunities are under negotiation and the Company anticipates a number of decision points to occur before the end of 2014 calendar year.
EnWave currently has a commercial license and royalty agreement with a division of Bonduelle (“Bonduelle”), the world–s leading processed vegetable producer. This partner relationship and business development are advancing according to expectations. Fittingly, Bonduelle is continuing its product refinement with an 18kW quantaREV® machine and is prepared to receive a leased commercial-scale 120kW quantaREV® machine. EnWave is in the latter stages of completing the construction of this machine for delivery to Bonduelle by the end of 2014. Commissioning of this machine will enable commercial production in 2015 and validate the quantaREV® platform on a larger scale. Success on this commercial-scale is expected to lead to a further and more sizeable deployment of EnWave–s quantaREV® technology.
Hormel Foods and EnWave are at the latter stages of completing extensive product development with a joint desire to move to product launch in the coming months.
An eight kW powderREV® machine for Sutro Biopharma (“Sutro”) is in the testing phase. Once completed, Sutro will be conducting detailed trials that are expected to be completed by mid 2015.
EnWave is increasing its resource dedication to identifying, collaborating with and commercially contracting new partners. This will be an ongoing effort. The awareness of EnWave–s technology is increasing and the early successes in commercialization are becoming apparent and EnWave will continue to capitalize on this trend.
About EnWave
EnWave Corporation is a Vancouver-based industrial technology company developing commercial applications for its proprietary Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV) dehydration technology. EnWave aims to sign royalty-bearing commercial licenses with leading food and pharmaceutical companies for the use of its revolutionary technology. Thus far the Company has signed ten royalty-bearing licenses, opening up eight distinct market sectors for commercialization with companies that include Bonduelle, a global leader in the production of vegetables; Hormel Foods Corporation, a major processed meat manufacturer in the United States of America; and Sutro Biopharma, a company developing a protein synthesis process for the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to these licenses, EnWave has formed a Limited Liability Partnership, NutraDried LLP, to develop, manufacture, market and sell all-natural cheese snack products in the United States under the Moon Cheese® brand. The Company has also signed a license and manufacturing agreement with NutraDried Creations to market the dried cheese and other REV snack products through private label distribution channels in the United States and Latin America.
EnWave has signed a wide range of research agreements with an expanding list of companies that include Nestle, Kellogg–s, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Sun-Maid Growers, R.J. Reynolds and Merck among others. EnWave is introducing REV as a new dehydration standard in the food and biological material sectors: potentially faster and cheaper than freeze drying, with better end product quality than air drying or spray drying.
EnWave currently has six REV platforms: commercial-scale nutraREV® and MIVAP® are used in the food industry to dry food products quickly and at low-cost, while maintaining high levels of nutrition, taste, texture and colour. The Company has also commercialized powderREV® for bulk dehydration of food cultures, probiotics and fine biochemicals such as enzymes below the freezing point; quantaREV for continuous, high-volume low-temperature drying; and bioREV and freezeREV as new methods to stabilize and dehydrate biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines and antibodies. More information about EnWave is available at .
EnWave Corporation
Mr. John P.A. Budreski, Executive Chairman
Safe Harbour for Forward-Looking Information Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking information based on management–s expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the Company–s strategy for growth, product development, market position, and expected expenditures are forward-looking statements. These statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
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Contacts:
EnWave Corporation
Mr. John Budreski
Executive Chairman
(+1) 416-930-0914
EnWave Corporation
Mr. Brent Charleton
Vice President, Corporate Affairs
(+1) 778-378-9616