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iPackets Management Wraps Up Two-Week Trip to China to Spearhead the Establishment of Its Joint Venture
Market Wire - November 29, 2006 11:04 AM ET
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iPackets International, Inc. ("iPackets") (PINKSHEETS: IPKL), a developer and provider of wireless communications software and equipment for the mining industry, is pleased to provide a progress update on its Joint Venture ("JV") in China.
From November 4 - 18, 2006, iPackets concluded a series of very productive business and technical meetings in China with its JV partners, China Coal Information Institute ("CCII"), and Henan YongAn Investment Guarantee Co. ("YongAn"). The iPackets team consisted of Mr. Naiel Kanno, iPackets' President and CEO, Mr. Kouros Goodarzi, iPackets' VP of Engineering, Mr. Frank Chen, member of iPackets' Board of Directors, and Mr Hui Wang, iPackets' China-based business development representative.
On the business side, the JV partners have hired senior executives with strong expertise in JV set-up and operational management. The discussions amongst the three JV parties focused on concluding the JV agreement which will be submitted to the Sino-Foreign JV Business Registration Office for the establishment of the JV. The JV partners also discussed and prepared an action plan and preliminary budget for the manufacturing process, product certification and establishing the sales and marketing channels in China. In addition, the JV partners are in discussions with a number of mining operations who have expressed interest in deploying iPackets' iPMine mine-safety system.
During the technical meetings, the JV team met with the director and high-ranking officials of the China Mining Products Safety Approval and Certification Center, referred to as the MA office, located in Beijing. The MA Office is a division of the China Coal Research Institute ("CCRI") that handles certification of devices and systems to be used in China coal mines under the auspices of the State Administration for Worker Safety (SAWS). The group discussion focused on the commencement of the iPMine product certification. The MA Office officials confirmed the need for a system such as the iPMine product with its unique capabilities. To that end, iPackets provided its JV partners with the required technical documentation to fast-track the product certification application process.
Mr. Kanno commented: "We achieved a number of milestones and a significant progress was made towards the establishment and operation of the JV." He added, "We are very happy with the level of commitment we saw from our partners, and specifically the allocation of dedicated resources and new hiring of senior executives to handle the JV establishment. CCII has also been instrumental in building up the required network to facilitate the certification and also lining up mining operations as early adopters of our state-of-the-art technology."
Kouros Goodarzi, Vice president of Engineering of iPackets, summarized the results of the trip as, "The discussions were focused on speeding up the process to penetrate the market as soon as possible. This includes commitment from all sides to handle their part of the activities required to start the first deployment. We have invested a lot in our technology and we are well positioned to capture the market as a leader. The trip ensured we have a direct and efficient procedure in place to make that happen."
About the Mining and Mine Safety Industries in China
There are more than 280,000 mining enterprises in China, 80,000 of which are state-owned. Of the state owned mines, more than 700 are classified as large mines, which will soon face Chinese government mine safety regulations. Mine safety has been a major issue with more than 6,000 miners killed in China last year although independent estimates the real figure could be as high as 20,000 miners killed. According to Chinese government statistics, more than 12.2 million people were employed as miners in 2005, and approximately 7.0 million of these were coal miners.
About The Chinese Joint Venture Partners:
Henan YongAn Investment Guarantee Co., Ltd.
YongAn is one of the first investment guarantee investment companies to be approved by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. With more than 55 employees, YongAn's business scope is finance, investment and debenture guarantee, financial services and consultation related to investments in small- to medium-sized enterprises.
China Coal Information Institute ("CCII"): Established in 1959 by the Chinese government, China Coal Information Institute is a national research organization with more than 800 employees. CCII is part of the newly-established National Institute for Occupational Safety and has played a leading role in the development of China's domestic coal industry and related occupational safety standards. CCII provides information support and strategic suggestions to government authorities; undertakes market investigations and provides consulting services to Chinese and international companies to expand their business in the areas of energy, safety, environment, and information technology. For more information, visit www.coalinfo.net.cn/english.htm.
About iPackets International, Inc. and iPMine
iPackets International is a developer and provider of wireless communications software and equipment for the global mine-safety industry. iPMine, the company's flagship product designed to significantly improve the safety of miners and equipment, is a real-time two-way wireless communications solution that tracks, monitors, and communicates with miners and equipment underground and above ground. With iPMine, location information of both miners and equipment is collected and displayed on one or more monitoring stations against a background of a mine's terrain map. iPMine's scalability and flexibility features make it ideal to be deployed in any size mine supporting multiple levels and/or sites. Its redundant communications feature makes the system highly reliable to efficiently operate in the harsh mining environment. For more information, visit www.ipackets.com.
Certain statements included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, plans and timing for the introduction or enhancement of our services and products, statements about future market conditions, supply and demand conditions, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact and involve risks and uncertainties. Our expectations regarding future revenues depend upon our ability to develop and supply products and services that meet defined specifications. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "expect," "believe," and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations.
