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Agreed Opportunist!! Mel inherited a company with little debt, 3 million in revenues and installations at military bases, universities, hospitals, and cities. Not to mention DOE awards for the Aimed Optics products. Board was asleep while Mel ran the ship into an iceberg.
Hopefully, the board is doing everything in its power to clean up the company and hire a team that can get the company going; or the company is toast. I believe that there are a lot of major lighting companies infringing on the company's patents, but the company has to survive to reap the benefits of what it created. Time will tell.
Before the Bilco gang starts bashing this post, read the patents, research the LED lighting market and read the filings. That's where the information is for anyone who truly wants to understand the past, present and future.
Evolucia Shareholder Update
PR.com June 29, 2014 2:54 PM
Sarasota, FL, June 29, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Evolucia Inc., (OTCBB & OTCQB: ILED), a leader in high performance LED (light emitting diode) lighting systems, today released the following update from its new Interim Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Seifert:
"My name is Thomas Seifert and I am the new Interim CEO of Evolucia. My background is in corporate governance, business efficiencies and finance with an emphasis on forensic accounting and analytics. I was hired by the board of directors of Evolucia to work with the operations team, to develop a path forward and to analyze and investigate the actions of the past executive team.
Since I was hired in April of this year, I have worked with the board of directors, founders and remaining operations team to determine what steps must be taken in order to stabilize the company. I am pleased to report that there is a path to success that is achievable and our partners to date have supported this path.
Currently, Evolucia has $2.9 million in vendor and accrued debt and I will be working with each vendor who is owed money to discuss settlements of this debt. I am working with investors with the goal of recapitalizing the company so that we can move forward in a positive direction and to restore the name of Evolucia. Evolucia products are recognized for performance and quality and the company simply needs experienced management to do its job in a fiscally responsible manner. My experience is that bankruptcy is neither in the best interest of Evolucia nor its creditors, so it is my hope that we can develop a plan that services this debt on a schedule that allows for ongoing corporate development, recovery and scaled growth.
We recently engaged the law firm of DLA Piper to represent Evolucia with respect to intellectual property licensing and patent infringement litigation. DLA Piper is the largest business law firm in the world and works with many of the world's preeminent technology companies, offering advice throughout a broad range of areas. Our engineering team has already begun to work with the IP team at DLA Piper to determine the value of the company's patents and proprietary products. Our goal is to monetize these assets both in the short and long term. Although we are optimistic about the future of this channel, it is too early to project what revenues Evolucia could realize from licensing and enforcing its intellectual property rights.
We recently engaged the mechanical engineering team of RoBrady Design. RoBrady is a multi-disciplinary product design and development studio that provides Evolucia with progressive industrial design, mechanical design and product engineering, market research, complete rapid prototyping and production program management. RoBrady design stresses a comprehensive speed-to-market plan by collaborating to identify the greatest areas of opportunity and profitable product solutions. Our electrical and photometric engineers are currently working with Leader Electronics and RoBrady engineers to redesign and reengineer the Aimed Optics™ product platform. This is critical to the future of Evolucia as competing in this industry requires constantly reengineering products in order to reduce costs and improve performance by keeping pace with the rapid advancement of technologies and new optical, thermal and LED component developments that continue to drive the industry forward.
Over the next 12 months, we will be working with our partners to develop the next generation of Aimed Optics products. We have started our next generation development which will be focused on cost reduction. We expect to accomplish this by strategically integrating the current aimed optics insert and fixture housing into a single unit to minimize heat loss and eliminate redundant system costs. Our patented Aimed Optics™ technology inherently requires fewer LEDs, components and materials than light bar and flat-plane products, so our bill-of-material costs should be lower than our competitors.
With respect to growing Evolucia's sales, this is a challenge for the short term, but we believe it is achievable. Our partner, Leader Electronics, has committed resources and incentives to assist our efforts to gain new business. Our warranties are backed by Leader Electronics and we believe our pricing is competitive. We are working with a small group of representatives and distributors who specialize in the sale and installation of high performance roadway and area lighting products. Our goal is to focus on growing our distribution channels by providing quality Aimed Optics™ products at competitive prices. For the foreseeable future, Evolucia will only focus its time and capital on the distribution of products that it designs, engineers and manufactures with its partner, Leader Electronics.
Our job over the next 12 months is to design and engineer Aimed Optics™ products that meet performance requirements and cost targets that are demanded by the markets. My expectations are that our products will continue to be recognized for excellence by the industry and that our proprietary Aimed Optics™ technology will allow us to compete with any fixture in the industry on both cost and performance metrics.
Although, I hope everyone will recognize this shareholder update as optimistic, I would also caution everyone that we have serious issues to manage. While I would categorize the vast majority of Evolucia's note-holder debt as “friendly debt,” there are other liabilities that we will need to address. I am optimistic about the future of Evolucia, but I am keenly aware that we must move forward with a diligent focus on efficiency and performance with little margin for error. I believe in this company, our team, our partners and our patented technology, and am confident that we can achieve success.
In closing, I would like to address a few questions that were emailed to Evolucia by shareholders:
[1] To clear up any misinformation about my work history, please be advised that I have no relationship with the Rocky Mountain Fund and had never heard of it until a local Bradenton newspaper erroneously printed my supposed affiliation. In addition, I have no history of securities violations, however I have worked with several distressed companies in the past and am proud of the contributions that I have made to those companies.
[2] The company continues to operate from facilities located at 7040 Professional Parkway in Sarasota, Florida. Information printed in local newspapers to the contrary was false. Although we may be downsizing our office space and relocating our facilities in the future, our landlord has, to this point, been amenable to working with us to solve problems that were created by past management.
[3] Evolucia is in the process of launching a new website at www.evolucia.com. I understand the importance of our website, and apologize that the site was compromised upon the departure of prior management.
I would also like to announce at this time that Evolucia will host a shareholders' meeting during the 4th quarter of this year. Shareholders and investors will receive formal notifications of this meeting as per SEC requirements and I would like to encourage all of our shareholders to attend this meeting.
The new team at Evolucia is already working diligently to regain the trust of our shareholders, customers, investors, partners and vendors and as Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Thank you for your continued support of Evolucia, and I look forward to seeing you at the shareholders' meeting."
Respectfully,
Thomas Seifert
CEO - Evolucia, Inc.
About Evolucia Inc.
Evolucia is an innovator and creator of patented LED lighting technologies and products that represent a new age of long-lasting energy efficient lighting solutions. Using proprietary Aimed Optics™, Evolucia's solutions have consistently topped all competitors in U.S. Department of Energy testing, and represent the best performing LED lighting systems in the world.
Our systems increase visibility while providing the highest energy efficiencies available, resulting in unprecedented cost savings. Our products light the way for military bases, universities and cities around the world, requiring 50 to 80 percent less energy and lasting for approximately 12 years without maintenance.
More information about Evolucia Inc. and its LED lighting systems is available in the company's Securities and Exchange filings, which can be found at www.sec.gov.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements made by Evolucia in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Evolucia believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: development and maintenance of strategic acquisitions; domestic and international acceptance of our product lines; defending our intellectual property and proprietary rights; development of new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully completing commercial testing of new technologies and systems to support new products and services; and attracting and retaining qualified management and other personnel. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Evolucia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.
If you have knowledge of fraud, then please report it and let us know what it was and who committed it. Otherwise, this is just message board bashing that is bordering on Libel. A lot of us would like to know if there was some type of fraud, but have no direct knowledge to support a public accusation.
Ernie, who committed fraud, and what fraud was committed?
Just ordered a Mariano Rivera LED baseball. I'll post a pic (if ihub allows) when it comes in.
http://www.steinersports.com/mariano-rivera-evolucia-led-light-up-2013-commemorative-retirement-ballunsigned.html
Looks like Siemens likes Evolucia's products.
When you go over to the facility, please report back to the rest of us what you learned. I will be interested to learn about the production at the new facility as well. Thanks in advance.
Ernie, I think you're looking at this the wrong way. A director of the company, someone who knows what is going on inside the company, stepped up and put $2 million of skin in the game, and did it through an unsecured line. Unsecured...meaning that if ILED fails, he loses his $2 million.
This man didn't put up a LOC to Apple or Microsoft at 14% where there is no chance of default. I very much like to see officers and directors put there money where there mouth is in small companies.
Good thoughts Semper Fi. My feeling is that large corporate customers would have to visit the ILED facility before they could entrust the company with their LED lighting business...and that is only going to happen if the ILED products and facility are both world-class. We know the products are solid, so my bet is that Interiano is upgrading the facility to win more business from large commercial customers. JMO
Not comparing the two. CREE is in a different league. Have owned CREE since the 90's, but always looking for the next one, and like the LED lighting segment for growth.
Interesting Article from Seeking Alpha re LED Lighting Technology
http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technologyhttp://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technology
Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
__
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
__
PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
__
AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
__
AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.Interesting Article from Seeking Alpha re LED Lighting Technology
http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technologyhttp://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technology
Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
__
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
__
PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
__
AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
__
AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Interesting Article from Seeking Alpha re LED Lighting Technology
http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technologyhttp://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technology
Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
__
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
__
PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
__
AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
__
AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
__
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
__
PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
__
AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
__
AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.Interesting ILED Article from Seeking Alpha
http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technologyhttp://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technology
Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
__
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
__
PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
__
AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
__
AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
__
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
__
PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
__
AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
__
AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Interesting ILED Article from Seeking Alpha
http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technologyhttp://seekingalpha.com/instablog/9577991-dwdallam/1982232-evolucia-is-set-to-become-the-world-s-leading-led-technology
Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
__
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
__
PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
__
AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
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AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.Evolucia Is Set To Become The World's Leading LED Technology 2 comments
Jun 24, 2013 9:21 PM | about stocks: ILED.OB, RVLT
As traders and investors, one thing we dislike about searching for the next Bubba Gump is reading about it one day before its assumed ignition. That doesn't give us any due diligence margin, and leaves us with two options: Act like herd animals and get slaughtered, or sit on the sidelines and watch Bubba Gump reach high orbit above Wall Street-and cry ourselves to sleep every night. For traders and investors alike, neither option is desirable.
In view of that, I've decided to divulge my research far before that time. In fact, I would suggest not buying Evolucia (ILED.OB) in the short term. Evolucia's float is 1 Billion shares, trading currently at .02 cents. That sounds worse than it actually is, however. I don't know what Evolucia's average float is but let's say it's 25 cents (which is generous, given that since 2009 the price was .10 and has declined to .02 cents since 2011, and they went public in late 2007). At 25 cents a share, that would equal 250M in total float. That's not so bad, really, as a buy back of 125M would reduce float by 50%. Another option is a reverse split, which wouldn't cost the company anything.
In either event, take the time between now and when Evolucia plausibly climbs to the heavens to familiarize yourself with the company: Read a few technical papers on general LED technology, read Evolucia's white paper on their patented LED technology called "Aimed Optics," and become intimate with ILED's stellar management team.
There has been a fair amount of noise about value LED companies lately. Some articles are bullish on these small and micro cap companies and some bearish, all for various reasons. Since I've never been one to follow crowds, deciding which LED value company to follow and perhaps leverage into is based on two key question: (1) Which company has the best technology? and (2) Which company has the greatest chance of marketing that technology to its customer base? The importance of the second question is obvious, but for many, the technology behind a company is of less concern.
In the case of LED markets, weighing technology lighter than marketing is an extremely unfortunate oversight for one key reason: The very existence of LED markets rests on the necessary condition of efficiency. That is, if it weren't for efficiency, there would be no reason to replace, for instance, High Pressure Sodium lamps, those yellow orbs of light familiarly called "street lights" nor the now ubiquitous fluorescent-both of which are a very large targets for LED manufacturers. In fact, LED can eventually replace both technologies indoors and outdoors, but, again, only if LED technology is necessarily more efficient. In other words, ignoring LED energy efficiency is to investors as ignoring wolves is to sheep.
That being the case, efficiency translates backward to technology and forward to the bottom line of commercial customers. Commercial is the operative word here. The consumer market is vastly more unpredictable in that it is highly susceptible to marketing, rather than superior technology (remember the BETAMax by Sony?). That's because consumers are generally ignorant of the technology they buy, buying whatever is cheapest and available when they need it, and in whatever packaging catches their eye. As such, consumer marketing will make or break a company, including a consumer LED lighting company.
Commercial marketing is a different animal. Commercial customers are not ignorant of the technology in which they invest, and, in fact, are going to buy the product with the greatest return on their investment. Therefore, all things being equal, commercially oriented buyers are going to invest in the most efficient-superior-technology. Furthermore, all things being equal, the company with superior technology is more fit to survive as a dominate player in the LED market; and, ipso facto, the entity with superior technology has the best chance of being The dominate player.
So, what company is positioned to dominate in the commercial LED marketplace based on superior technology? My conclusion is Evolucia because has developed and patented the most efficient lighting in the industry.*
The meat of my investigation gravitated around several key questions:
What is Evolucia going to do about its share price?
How is Evolucia's technology compared to its competitors?
Why has Evolucia lagged behind its competition in marketing and sales?
How does Evolucia's new leadership contribute to Evolucia moving forward?
Is Evolucia more industrial oriented or consumer oriented?
I posed those questions to Evolucia's Craig Hall over the phone and in email. I'll number his answers as my questions are numbered above (Note: Unless directly quoted, all information is paraphrased):
On April 30th, 2013, Evolucia's CEO announced that it would be trading on NASDAQ within twelve months. At this time, Evolucia has put stock concerns on the very back burner, but the NASDAQ deadline persists. The reason the NASDAQ listing along with general stock concerns are on the very back burner is that Evolucia is leveraging all of its resources at global marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with the goal of European, South American, Asian, Australian, and North American manufacturing and distribution locations. This is important because it cuts time to market, international tariffs, customs, and other logistic problems.
Our closest competitor is Revolution (RVLT). "My understanding is that RVLT is commercially focused, but primarily indoor lighting. Evolucia is commercially focused (originally in the outdoor lighting space), but we have transitioned to encompass indoor as well with our acquisition of Affineon Lighting. I can't speak to RVLT's technology, but I can say that in the outdoor lighting space (roadway lighting, parking lots, etc.) that Evolucia's Aimed Optics allows for the highest efficiencies in the industry. . .and our technology outperforms theirs specifically in the outdoor space."* Evolucia's technology rests on the "Aimed Optics" patents. Over $30 million of investment has gone in making Evolucia's technology the most efficient technology in LED lighting.
As stated in #1, that was due to focusing on technology and a low IQ in marketing. Since then, Evolucia has hired two former executives from OSRAM (Sylvania), one in the position of CEO, and an entirely new and extremely experienced management team.
Evolucia's new CEO and one of its Board of Directors are both from OSRAM (Sylvania) and have agreements with OSRAM Mexico to sell ILED technology exclusively in Mexico, as one example. Final agreements to move into Europe with the Polish investment consortium for exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights serving Western and Eastern Europe have been finalized. Also, Evolucia has now formed a subsidiary in Australia to market and manufacture Evolucia products in both Australia and New Zealand. Evolucia has finalized a partnerships with Leader Electronics for all of Asia, and has acquired Affineon Lighting, which will move us to indoor lighting. Last, Evolucia is now a "pure play" commercial LED lighting company.
So, all of that sounds dandy and gets the old stock market blood pumping because it's exactly what Bubbba Gump investors want to hear, right? In order to avoid the slaughter house, however, we need a liberal dose of skepticism and research in order to decide if these partnerships, acquisitions, contracts, and awards can deliver concrete results for Evolucia's future survival and market dominance. (Note that while doing your own due diligence, you may come across older information where Evolucia seems to be connected with Sonovia. Sonovia is Evolucia's old name.)
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mel Interiano (CEO) is an accomplished lighting industry veteran. He worked for OSRAM SYLVANIA (the lighting division of SIEMENS) for 15 years. Mel was in charge of all international sales for OSRAM SYLVANIA where in just a few months, he broke sales records and created innovative business models for LED sales. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Charles B. Rockwood (EVP) is Evolucia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Charles brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia and has held CFO, COO and CEO positions with responsibilities that include financial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, fulfillment, legal and compliance.
Francis (Frank) J. Santiago is recently retired from OSRAM Sylvania as Executive Vice President & Global Head of Sales and joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He has held senior-level and general management roles at Osram Sylvania Inc. More information: origin-www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
Skip Sack joined the Evolucia Inc. Board of Directors in 2012. He currently serves on the Boards of six private companies, one public company and four non-profits, and is the former Chairman of the Board of the National Restaurant Association. He also serves on the Cornell University Council and Dean's Advisory Board of the Hotel School. Skip joins the Board with 50 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Up until 2007, he was a member of the Applebee's Board of Directors. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Tom Siegfried has been a member of Evolucia's Board of Directors since 2010. He retired after a 25 year career in commercial and government new construction, renovation and historical restoration in the Washington D.C. area. Before retiring, he was a principal in a national construction company that specializes in governmental and municipal contracts. More information: www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
Woody Smith has 35 years of lighting experience in design and implementation of lighting systems. He has held the following positions: Director R&D High End Systems (USA), COO Martin Professional*,(Denmark), International Sales Coemar SpA (Italy), VP Engineering Hubbell Lighting, Founder Affineon Lighting, CTO Evolucia. More information: http://www.evolucialighting.com/about/leadership
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PARTNERSHIPS
SYLVANIA
Actually, Sylvania hasn't really existed since 1993 when it was sold by its then current owner GTE. Since then, Sylvania was absorbed by three companies, OSRAM, Havells, and spun off as an independent in Australia.
OSRAM
There is no doubt about OSRAM as a "real deal" player, as it is a subsidiary of Siemens itself. You can do your own fundamentals on OSRAM if you wish, but suffice to say, OSRAM is a multi-billion dollar internationally entrenched company. It's been around since 1919.
OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American business of OSRAM AG of Germany, one of the world's largest manufacturers and part of the Siemens family of companies. The company manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for business and industry, consumers, for the automotive industry, and for the computer, aerospace and other major industries worldwide. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA.
OSRAM SYLVANIA has 22 manufacturing plants, one equipment assembly operation and twelve research and development laboratories, along with a network of sales offices and distribution centers serving all of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name. OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, Germany, has over 35,000 employees and 53 production plants in 18 countries around the world. Over the last 10 years, this leading products company has gradually expanded its international presence while tripling sales and doubling its world market share.
The global headquarters for Siemens also is in Munich, Germany, while the company's North American headquarters is in New York City. Siemens does business in the world electrical and electronics market. In addition to , some of the Siemens business groups are: communication and information systems; electric components; automotive and transportation; energy and power generation; medical electronics; and automation. Worldwide, Siemens has 426,000 employees in over 190 countries. (Source: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/about/Pages/company-profile.aspx )
OSRAM Mexico
This is Evolucia's doorway into Mexico whereby OSRAM Mexico have agreed to further develop the Evolucia Aimed Optics technology, and to market it. (Source; http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/osram-mexico-and-evolucia-inc-announce-led-outdoor-luminaire-co-marketing-agreement-190839371.html )
Poland
This is a deal with a Polish entity to create Evolucia Europe. The deal is finalized and for the rights to manufacture and distribute Evolucia products in Europe, the Polish entity will pay Evolucia 11 million by August. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/fl-evolucia-in-europe-idUSnPnCL80404+160+PRN20130320 ) Deals fall through, so watch this for movement.
Here is additional and specific information about the Polish partnership from an email with Evolucia's Craig Hall:
In 2008, SETE [Evolucia's Polish partner] identified LED lighting as an ideal and rapidly growing product offering for government sales. The reason they selected us at that time was because: (1) we had developed a proprietary high quality Aimed Optics prototype that was more efficient than any other product in the market; (2) we were one of the original companies to identify commercial outdoor and street lighting as a target market which is/was a nice fit into both municipal and federal channels; and (3) one of our significant investors is from Poland, and had relationships with this group.
Over the last 4+ years, we licensed our trademarks (Sunovia, Evolucia, Aimed optics, etc.) to this group, and allowed them to operate independently within Poland as Sunovia Energy Technology, Inc. (our former corporate name) to develop distribution channels into the government and military markets for our products. As you can read from their website (sunoviaeurope.com), they piggy-backed our penetration of military bases and national awards with similar achievements in Poland/Europe.
They used their relationships to establish numerous test sites for our street lights, including sites in Radom and Krakow, Poland. The test results have been unanimously positive, and the distribution channels are expected to grow exponentially over the coming months and years.
As a result of the successful tests, this group came back to us requesting the rights to manufacture our products (rather than just purchase) in Poland for distribution into the European markets. We sold them these rights for $11 million, with the caveat that Evolucia, Inc. would have to own a controlling interest in the distribution entity; while the investment group would be allowed to own 100% of the manufacturing company. The agreement requires that they meet quality and favored nations pricing requirements.
Australian Subsidiary
Evolucia LDU Pty Limited, a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of the Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. You can also find this information on the Evolucia website, but I always like to triple check anything found on a company website. Call Evolucia to get more information about how far along this venture is. (Source: http://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/us-lighting-manufacturer-evolucia-sets-up-in-hobar)
Leader Electronics
Leader is a large Asian company and the exclusive partner taking Evolucia to Asia. (Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunovia-energy-finalizes-partnership-with-leader-electronics-162865966.html). Leader Electronics website: http://leaderen.syis.com.tw/default.aspx
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AQUISITIONS
Affineon Lighting
This is a product expansion effort for indoor lighting. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolucia-to-acquire-affineon-digital-lighting-204087281.html )
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AWARDS AND CASE STUDY CONTRACTS
*US Department of Energy
Evolucia's LED Cobra Head SCHX5 was given the award for Best Outdoor Street Light, in its class, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). . . ." (Source: http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/200555-qualitystocks/170330-sunovia-energy-technologies-inc-sunv-evolucia-cobra-head-wins-lighting-industry-s-top-award )
*Military
The U.S. Navy has successfully installed Evolucia Aimed LED cobra head street lights at the Souda Bay base in Crete, Greece.
( Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-navy-installs-evolucia-aimed-led-lights-on-base-in-greece-104289453.html )
Fort Buckley, CO
(Source; http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2011/05/18/FL03940 )
Camp Lejeune, N.C.
(Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marines-get-better-outdoor-light-and-cut-electricity-by-half-at-camp-lejeune-78222502.html)
*Commercial
Appalachian State and De Paul University
(Source: www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universities-find-evolucia-led-parking-fixtures-enlightening-176610181.html)
As always, most things in life are based on conditionals, and that is how I will conclude my analysis of the next possible Bubba Gump of the LED market. If Evolucia's technology is as good as it seems (awards and commercial contracts point to that conclusion); and if the new management team, two of which are from OSRAM Sylvania, including the CEO, continue their successes into OSRAM markets as they have done in Mexico, along with their European, Asian, and Australian ventures; and finally, if Evolicia's technology continues to be superior, then Evolucia is set to become The definitive commercial international LED company. Commercial customers will buy technology that realizes the greatest return on their investment. Today, that technology is Evolucia's.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Pedro Martinez at LightFair promoting Evolucia
This company is undervalued IMO
LSCG - $125 million market cap
RVLT - $45 million market cap
ILED - $23 million market cap
Only ILED has a developed product line that can be sold for a profit, and now has the manufacturing capacity to support growth.
# of outstanding shares is irrelevant. The market cap is where the value of an investment can be determined.
Looking for the 8-k on this investment.
Shoei, great post. you're absolutely right. There is no reason for a reverse split until the revenues are being realized (minimum $50 mil per annum) and the share price is at a point where a split would allow the company to become listed on the NASD.
Agree that Light Fair will be great exposure for Evolucia, but from this weeks shareholder update it looks like larger revenues are only just starting, so my bet is that we stay under the radar for a few months until the revenues are posted in the quarterly filings. Guessing that the street finds us later this year...August/September.
OSRAM and Evolucia Partnership
Received the news release from the company, but does anyone know why it's not showing up anywhere else?
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Evolucia Inc.
February 12, 2013
OSRAM Mexico and Evolucia Inc. Announce LED Outdoor Luminaire
Co-Marketing Agreement
OSRAM ProPoint™ Cobrahead using Evolucia Aimed Optics™ Now Available in Mexico
TULTITLAN, Mexico and SARASOTA, FL, (February 12, 2013) - OSRAM Mexico and Evolucia, Inc. (OTCBB & OTCQB: ILED), announce today that they have finalized an agreement whereby the companies will develop, deliver and market OSRAM ProPoint™ Cobrahead LED outdoor luminaires using Evolucia Aimed Optics™. Under the agreement, the companies will work together to integrate Evolucia's award winning Aimed Optics™ technology with superior LED modules and lighting controls from OSRAM. The combination is expected to result in one of the highest performing and highest quality LED outdoor luminaires in the industry.
"The combination of cutting edge LED technology from OSRAM with Evolucia's industry leading light distribution capabilities allows us to deliver high-performance and superior quality LED outdoor luminaires to our customer base," said Paolo Bortolan, Presidente y Director General - CEO of OSRAM Mexico. "The new OSRAM ProPoint™ Cobrahead using Evolucia Aimed Optics™ outdoor luminaire delivers the perfect amount of clean white light to the target area and uses up to 62% less energy than traditional fixtures."
Evolucia, Inc. is a Sarasota, Florida-based company that recently won the lighting industry's coveted Best LED Street Light award, in its category, which was presented by the US Department of Energy, largely because of the proprietary Aimed Optics technology that was invented by the company's lighting design team.
Mel Interiano, Chief Executive Officer of Evolucia, said, "We are extremely pleased to be partnering with OSRAM Mexico. We have invested more than $25 million in our Aimed Optics product development platform and have spent 5 years working to perfect the LED mounting angles, heat sinking and aesthetics to ensure that not only performance is at the highest level, but also that our products can be manufactured and delivered at extremely competitive prices."
About OSRAM
OSRAM is one of the two leading light manufacturers in the world. The company's portfolio covers the entire value chain from components - including lamps, opto semiconductors like light-emitting diodes (LED) - to electronic control gears as well ascomplete luminaires, light management systems and lighting solutions. The company, which is very much internationally oriented, has around 39,000 employees worldwide and generated a revenue of 5.4 billion Euros in fiscal year 2012. More than 70% of its revenue comes from energy-efficient products. The company's business activities have been focusing on light - and hence on quality of life - for over 100 years.
About Evolucia Inc.
Evolucia, Inc. is an industry pioneer in the design, engineering, manufacture and distribution of high performance LED lighting systems to the global lighting markets. Evolucia received the United States Department of Energy's highest award for lighting within the LED category, and has installed thousands of its fixtures at military bases, universities, municipalities, and large commercial entities. Evolucia's LED lighting products are sold under the brand, Evolucia Lighting (www.evolucialighting.com).
All Evolucia products offer highly energy efficient, durable, commercial-grade LED lighting for both indoor and outdoor applications. The company's award winning cobra head and shoe box fixtures employ Evolucia's proprietary Aimed Optics™ technology, which increases light levels and visibility by strategically directing light to the target area. Evolucia fixtures require 50%- 80% less energy than traditional lighting, and last for approximately 12 years without maintenance.
More information about Evolucia Inc and its LED lighting systems is available in the company's Securities and Exchange filings, which can be found at www.sec.gov or at www.evolucialighting.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements made by Evolucia in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Evolucia believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: development and maintenance of strategic acquisitions; domestic and international acceptance of our product lines; defending our intellectual property and proprietary rights; development of new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully completing commercial testing of new technologies and systems to support new products and services; and attracting and retaining qualified management and other personnel. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Evolucia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors.