Innovative Composites Strengthens Executive Team
- South Carolina plant ramp-up proceeding on time and on budget -
TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2012 /CNW/ - Innovative Composites International Inc. (TSXV: IC) (OTCQX: ICIZF), ("ICI" or the "Company"), a producer of patented protected composite materials targeting the multi-billion dollar Prefabricated Modular housing and transportation markets, reported today that it has strengthened its management team with the additions of Rubens Roque as Chief Operating Officer and Allan Landosky as Director of Engineering.
"Both Rubens and Allan bring decades of relevant operations and engineering experience and will help to not only ensure that the start up of the new South Carolina facility continues to progress on time, but also that the subsequent plant operations maximizes product quality and shareholder value," said Terry Ball, President and CEO of ICI. "We are fortunate to be able to add two individuals of this caliber to the ICI team and look forward to their contributions as we continue to execute our business plan. Additionally, we are pleased to report that preparations for the start-up of the plant in South Carolina are going according to plan and we look forward to commencing operations within 60 days."
Mr. Roque has over 25 years of experience in plant operations, M&A and plant start ups with companies such as Woodbridge Corporation, BorgWarner, TRW and Fehrer Automotive, and is now joining the ICI team as COO/General Manager for Orangeburg Operations. Most recently, Mr. Roque was CEO for Fehrer Automotive North America where he led a major business turnaround in US operations and was directly responsible for the start up of a new facility in Alabama supplying parts to the Volkswagen Chattanooga operations as well as Daimler's Tuscaloosa car assembly plant.
Prior to Fehrer, Mr. Roque worked for TRW as corporate master lean officer, working with eight plants in the US, Canada and Mexico developing the strategic direction for lean manufacturing practices and continuous process improvement to meet company's financial and operational results. He also participated in the start-up of plants in China, India, Mexico, Brazil and Eastern Europe and developed new operations strategies for the US, Europe and Latin America. Mr. Roque will play an integral part in the execution of the recently announced Brazilian housing agreement as he is originally from Brazil and speaks fluent Portuguese.
Allan Landosky has over 30 years experience in complex system design and engineering applications, with General Electric, General Motors and Caterpillar. Prior to joining ICI Mr. Landosky was a manager of new product design at Caterpillar. His responsibilities included the introduction of significantly more efficient and environmentally friendlier equipment to the international marketplace. Prior to Caterpillar, Mr. Landosky was Global Validation Engineering Manager for 10 of his 23 years at GM where he worked at designing validation activity for the new line of hybrid vehicles. His experience with complex engineering applications and a track record in introducing new products are a valuable addition to ICI's engineering team.
South Carolina Plant Update
ICI is pleased to report that the South Carolina manufacturing facility is progressing on schedule and on budget. Approximately 20% of the required equipment has arrived on site with the balance of the machinery expected through the end of February. ICI is currently completing minor leasehold improvements to prepare the building for the launch of operations. The newly appointed COO of the Company, Rubens Roque, has also begun the process of staffing the plant. A large, qualified labour pool is available in the area and ICI does not foresee any issues building a strong team to run the facility.
The 126,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, 60 miles from the Charleston ocean port and is designed to produce approximately 5,000,000 sq. ft. of affordable housing per annum. At full capacity, the facility will generate over 300 jobs, and state and local authorities have assembled an incentive package totaling approximately $17 million to attract ICI. Initial production of the facility is scheduled for March 2012 with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for April.
About Innovative Composites International Inc.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Innovative Composite International Inc. (TSXV: IC) (OTCQX: ICIZF) is a high-tech engineering and manufacturing company that is successfully commercializing a patent protected line of state-of-the-art Structure Lite composite products targeted at the multi-billion dollar transportation and Prefabricated Modular housing markets.
Led by a team of commercialization experts ICI has adopted a tier two business model: It designs and manufactures game-changing products and partners with established companies in its target markets to utilize their sales channels for faster product roll-out.
This strategy and the superior characteristics of the products have resulted in rapidly growing sales in both markets and opened up opportunities that could lead to large scale contracts on an ongoing basis.
To find out more about ICI please visit our website at: www.innovativecompositesinc.com.
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Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
"Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements, such as the economy, generally, competition in its target markets, the demand for ICI's products and the availability of funding. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and ICI does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from ICI's expectations and projections."
Ilja Troitschanski | or | Philip Dale |
Chief Financial Officer | TMX Equicom | |
(416) 646 0754 | (416) 815 0700 ext 253 | |
[email protected] | [email protected] |
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