ACN 109 200 900
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT
7 October 2016
HIGHLIGHTS
EDENCRETETM - US UPDATE
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6 full time, highly experienced EdenCreteTM concrete admixture sales staff already appointed together with a highly experienced senior vice president responsible for national and international product development.
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US commercial trials have commenced: Up to 10 trials scheduled in California, Colorado, New York, Georgia and Maryland before December 2016.
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Trials will test for various applications/ performance characteristics including for pervious concrete, precast concrete, freeze/ thaw applications and permeability applications.
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Installation of on-site bulk EdenCreteTM storage/ dispensing equipment in Denver ready mix plant to be completed by end of October 2016.
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First commercial project for the floor of a warehouse expansion in Indiana scheduled to be completed by early November 2016.
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Progress on first GDOT and MARTA Commercial Tenders to be issued including provision for EdenCreteTM to be used.
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The expansion of Eden's Colorado based production capability of EdenCreteTM to a targeted maximum of 2 million -2.4 million gallons per year remains on schedule to be operational by early in 2017.
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Purchase of Denver premises likely to be completed in November 2016.
Level 15, 197 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia 6000 Telephone: (08) 9282 5889 Facsimile: (08) 9282 5866
Email: [email protected]
DETAILS
Eden Energy Limited ("Eden") (ASX: EDE) continues to make further encouraging progress in the expansion in the US of its EdenCreteTM concrete admixture project.
EdenCrete Sales Team and Senior Vice President responsible for National and International Product Development
Eden has now appointed six full time highly experienced EdenCreteTM concrete admixture sales staff, three of whom have commenced work and with the remainder due to commence over the next 4-8 weeks.
They will be based in New Jersey, California, Washington, Colorado and Texas.
Two further, similarly experienced sales staff, who would be based in Missouri and Georgia, are also considering joining the Eden sales team over the next two- three months.
Eden is well on the way to achieving its goal of establishing a full sales team of 8- 10 experienced sales staff, spread out across the whole of continental USA, with each having a good number of years' experience in the concrete industry successfully selling concrete admixtures in the different areas of the US with top admixture suppliers.
The intention is to progressively build the sales team whose collective task will be to cover the entire US commercial and infrastructure markets, with the intention of selling all, or as much as possible, of the EdenCreteTM that Eden will be able produce from 2017 onwards from its expanded Colorado production facility. This output is targeted at approximately 2-2.4 million gallons of EdenCreteTM per year.
As previously advised, the primary task for the sales team is to arrange trials with potential customers across the US with the intention of converting trials to sales in the first 6-12 months.
In the longer term, it is intended to further expand the sales team both in the US and also into the global arena as the market expands to absorb the production increases that are planned to result from the establishment of Eden's proposed large scale, global production facility in Augusta, Georgia.
A highly experienced senior vice president responsible for national and international product development, with many years experience in high level government liaison, has also been appointed with primary responsibility for opening up opportunities with state and federal government departments.
Commercial Trials of EdenCreteTM
US commercial trials of EdenCreteTM have commenced. The first trial, with an east coast -based supplier of pervious concrete (a porous form of concrete that is used for external car parks, roadways and hard-stand areas and which allows rainfall to drain through the concrete) has taken place and the results of laboratory tests, after 28 and 56 days, will be known later in the year.
The second trial, with an east coast-based international construction and engineering firm, focused on manufacturing plants and warehousing, has also commenced.
Up to eight other commercial trials, with significant sized US companies engaged in various sectors of the US concrete industry, are also scheduled to occur in California, Colorado, New York and Washington before the end of December 2016.
These other trials will also test a range of applications/ performance characteristics including precast concrete, freeze/ thaw applications and permeability applications.
If these trials are successful, Eden will be well on the way to achieving its goal of being able to sell all, or at least a substantial portion, of its total targeted production in 2017 from its expanded Colorado plant.
Installation of First On-site Bulk EdenCreteTM Storage and Dispensing Equipment
The installation of the first on-site, bulk EdenCreteTM storage and dispensing equipment will be completed by end of October 2016 in a Denver based ready mix plant.
This will enable EdenCreteTM to be seamlessly incorporated into the normal ready mix production process when it is required. One of the first contracts will include supplying Eden with the required EdenCreteTM enriched concrete as part of the current up-scaling of Eden's Denver plant.
This installation also will open the way to supply EdenCreteTM for a potential market of up to 150,000 cubic yards of concrete per annum, for use in outdoor applications that are subject to freeze/ thaw conditions that cause ordinary concrete to crack.
First Commercial Contract for Warehouse Floor Secured
The first US commercial project using EdenCreteTM to strengthen concrete for flooring in a warehouse, to be used for the floor of a warehouse expansion in Indiana, is scheduled to be completed in November 2016.
This project will involve the addition of EdenCreteTM to 200 cubic yards of concrete at a dosage rate of one gallon per cubic yard.
Progress with GDOT and MARTA Commercial Tenders
As previously announced (ASX: EDE- 29 August 2016), the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is proposing to issue requests for tender for some forthcoming highway repair projects that will enable it to require that EdenCreteTM be added to the concrete.
Eden has since been advised that GDOT plans to issue two such requests for tender and also that the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), due to the impressive improvements delivered by EdenCreteTM in an earlier field trial conducted for MARTA at the Brady Mobility Facility (ASX: EDE - 18 July 2016), plans to issue one, and both are now progressing towards each separately issuing, possibly within the next two or three months, requests for tender for these forthcoming commercial projects.
Eden has been advised that the intention in each case is enable them to require the addition of EdenCreteTM to so much of the concrete, and at such dosage rates, as GDOT and MARTA may respectively direct. Precise details are not yet known.
Eden considers that the occurrence of each of these events, as and when they occur, will represent a significant milestone for Eden in its efforts to break into the huge US infrastructure market with EdenCreteTM.
Expansion of Eden's Denver-based EdenCreteTM Production Capability
The expansion of the production capability of Eden's Colorado based EdenCreteTM production facility from its present level of approximately 108,000 gallons per annum of EdenCreteTM to a target of between approximately 2 million - 2.4 million gallons (7.6 - 9.1 million litres) per annum or approximately 40,000 gallons (151,000 litres) of finished product per week, is well underway and progressing well.
The entire up-scaling remains on schedule to be completed and operational, possibly in late January or during February 2017.
Purchase of Eden's Current Denver Facility
As previously announced (ASX:EDE -1 September 2016) Eden is in the process of purchasing the premises it leases in Denver, Colorado, at a net price of approximately US$1.2 million, payable progressively over a 5 year period, with the outstanding balance of the purchase price carrying 2% interest p.a.. The sale is anticipated to be completed by the end of November 2016.
This acquisition will fully secure Eden's long term control over this critical part of Eden's operation, which is intended to remain Eden's long term technology base, even after the proposed Georgia production facility is established.