Perth, Sep 11, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Stirling Products (ASX:STI) advises shareholders that it has commenced a consolidation process that will result in a dedicated subsidiary for its global sales and marketing efforts. Stirling has over the last two years undergone a growth and acquisition phase with the establishment of the Danish joint venture Pulmovet in July 2006 (ASX: July 13, 2006), the acquisition of Progressive BioActives Inc. in Prince Edward Island, Canada in August of 2007 (ASX: August 16, 2007) and most recently the acquisition of global licensing rights for the product PetQuench(TM) and the establishment of Stirling Animal Health in August of this year (ASX: August 14, 2008).
Stirling's CEO and Managing Director, Dr Calvin London said "through adherence to our core R&D mission to specialise in animal health products we have been able to establish a platform for a truly global presence with diverse holdings in Australia, North America and Europe. This has created a portfolio of commercial partnerships and products with global applications. Stirling will benefit from revenue generation as SAH introduces these products to each of the market areas".
The newly created subsidiary, Stirling Animal Health Limited, will become the focal point for commercial activities related to Stirling's companion animal products. In North America the company will consolidate the activities of Stirling North America Inc. (formerly Progressive BioActives Inc.) into SAH to create a single organisation. This will provide critical mass for development and commercialisation of companion animal products and the international sales and marketing support for Stirling's operations worldwide. Stirling Animal Health Inc. (SAH) will provide R&D activities from its facilities in Canada and global marketing through a tightly focused, streamlined organisation.
"Stirling is entering a new era in this development. Stirling is still an R&D company, but now has a clear focus on structured growth using a model similar to those developed and used by many of the leading drug companies in the world to commercialise in-house and acquired products.
Current sales of ProVale(TM) (the company's beta glucan product) and the anticipated re-launch of PetQuench(TM) into the North American market later this month under the SAH branding, will start to generate increasing sales revenue", indicated Dr London. "The increase in sales revenue will expand in 2009 with enhanced distribution agreements and further international market penetration of PetQuench(TM) and the introduction of several products in equine health area which are currently being finalised. Through SAH, we feel that the need for focused marketing and technical support in the company will be well served providing both flexibility and the opportunity for growth right through to the introduction of Ralbolean(TM), the company's R-salbutamol treatment for obesity in dogs. As part of this strategy, we will also be rationalising our operations in North America in order to establish a stable platform with the flexibility to expand as the company grows".
As part of the restructuring exercise, Mr Shane Patelakis, formerly the President of Stirling North America will move into a specialised role of technical support (VP, Technical Services) which will enable him to focus on creating new opportunities for ProVale(TM), manage the development of other novel products and/or technologies acquired by Stirling for the companion animal and livestock welfare and production areas. Mr Derrick Walker and Mr Michael Ramsay will lead our global sales and marketing activities as the VP's of Marketing and Sales, respectively. Additional consolidation and refocusing on commercialisation and sales generation will produce further savings for the company while driving bottom line revenues.
Mr Walker is the President of Aquience the company which initially brought the product PetQuench(TM) to the North American market. Derrick Walker was the former President, Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada and member of several HRM animalbased committees. He was also instrumental in elevating the "Pets Unlimited" brand name across Canada and through his long-term vision and seven-year expansion plan for the Atlantic Region, increased the number of stores from 6 to 15.
Mr Ramsay is the Vice President of Aquience and has 18 years experience developing international business-to-business commercial relationships within the manufacturing, biomedical, food, industrial, and oilfield ingredients sectors. He has worked for Monsanto in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for sales in Russia and central Europe and in technical and business development roles with Kelco a former division of Merck & Co. Inc., in Canada, the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
SAH will sell some products directly into customer channel per retail outlets, while others will be sold through focused veterinary distribution channels. SAH will also continue to license-in technology where this provides the best growth for the company in unison with licensing opportunities created by Stirling Products and Pulmovet.
Dr London indicated that "Stirling will create a platform of products to offer to distributors and customers in the animal health sector and we hope that over the next months we will extend our sales and marketing support into the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and Asia. Each region will be assessed to determine the nature and extent of support required in order to maximise our opportunities in all areas of the business. The company is currently in discussion with several distribution companies to assist in the future sales of products."
Stirling had announced the commencement of the second stage expansion of its manufacturing capabilities in Prince Edward Island, Canada (ASX: March 26, 2008).
These plans are currently being reviewed as part of the consolidation because of the failure of the developers of the intended building to fund the project due to increased costs of construction.
"This caused us some considerable concern and we were very disappointed that we were not informed of this decision until well after the construction was meant to have commenced," indicated Dr London. "While we continue to discuss other options with the Provincial government of PEI, we have also taken counter steps to ensure that we will be able to meet the increased demand expected for Provale(TM) in 2009. Whether we end up expanding the PEI facility as originally planned or take some other action is yet to be determined," he added.
Contact
Stirling Products Limited:
Calvin London
TEL: +61-400-204-616
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