Rubber Technology International (fka RTEK)

[timhyma]

To bad RTEK isn't in the biz anymore
Higher Energy Prices Could Benefit Tire Recycler
Sunday September 26, 1:10 am ET


LYNNFIELD, MA--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 26, 2004 -- AXcess News (www.axcessnews.com) released a story covering the recent move by utilities to fuel new power plants with coal and alternative fuels, which could be a benefit for tire recycler, GreenMan Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:GRN - News).
With oil prices staying over $40 a barrel, utilities are looking at alternative fuels to lower their costs.

National tire recycler GreenMan Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:GRN - News) already sells its crumb rubber to power plants in the Midwest. Last year the Lynnfield Massachusetts-based recycler began increasing the capacity of its recycling plants, though sales did not match that expansion. But with demand on the rise, investors may be looking at better numbers in 2005.

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The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is faced with its own dilemma in meeting demand. Xcel Energy wants to add another 750-megawatt plant at Pueblo but cannot decide on what fuel to use. Xcel also wants to charge consumers for the plant upfront, to reduce finance charges in the long run. But consumers may balk at paying for a benefit they're not yet receiving. And Colorado's not alone.

Utilities across the West are faced with an ever-increasing demand to supply power. In California, power plants that could be fueled with coal are in the planning stage, with Idaho and Arizona following suit.

Environmentalists are up in arms over the potential hazards of acid rain, a fallout of the 1970s era when coal was the main source of fuel for power plants.

In a Sacramento Bee story, John White, head of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies in Sacramento was quoted as saying, "California should not have a backdoor policy of exporting our pollution to other states."

White believes that California could craft laws that would even keep other states from generating power with coal-fired plants.

While consumer groups argue, the utilities are trying to move ahead and with the rising demand for power, they'll most likely win out. But not without some concessions, and that could be a bright star for GreenMan Tech if alternative fuels were added to the power plants fuel stock, like crumb rubber made from recycled tires.

GreenMan Technologies has been beefing up its plants to meet demand but it has also been reorganizing its California facility to focus on crumb rubber, its core product that's used by power plants in the Midwest -- but not in California.

In July, the company announced the acquisition of American Tire Disposal, Inc., a southern California based company in the business of collecting and marketing scrap tires. Its operations were to be integrated into GreenMan's southern California plant, adding $1 million to annual sales. Though the market gave little relief to that growth.

The tire recycler's growth hasn't gone unnoticed. Last week the Boston Business Journal's annual list of the area's 100 fastest-growing public companies placed GreenMan 41st. It was the first time GreenMan made the BBJ's list. In early August, Waste Age Magazine listed GreenMan 50th in its annual list of the top 100 waste industry players.

Friday shares of GreenMan Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:GRN - News) closed up 3 cents, or 2.5%, to end the session at $1.23 on volume of 16,800 shares, slightly more than the 90-day average daily trading volume recorded Friday of 15,641 shares.

More news on the investment horizon for the alternative energy sector can be found at AXcess News: http://www.axcessnews.com. This is an excerpt from the complete story.

About AXcess News:

Dubbed the "Yahoo! of small cap business news" by Gordon Borrell, one of America's leading media and research gurus, AXcess News is fast becoming a known commodity for both the serious investor and people in general looking for informed articles and insightful columns. http://www.axcessnews.com



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Eric Stevenson
Of AXcess News
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Source: AXcess News