ElectriPlast: Of Rumors and Whispers
Are we
REALLY
closer to
Commercialization?
By PK
ElectriPlast Blog (EB) Publisher
“A rumor goes in one ear and out many mouths.”
Chinese proverb
This proverb is an appropriate launch pad for me to dish about the lack of news from Bellingham. It wasn’t too many months ago that the now famous joint press release implied that 2008 would be a very productive year that would "lead us to commercial success." Well, based on the official news so far--two puny press releases--we suggest changing the Chinese Astrological Calendar to include "The Year of the Snail."
Put another way, we get more vibes out of the four stone presidents on Mount Rushmore than we get out of Bellingham. Even so, the grapevine is abuzz with rumors and whispers about possible deals.
Rumors and Whispers
To be sure, friends, these are confusing times compared to years past. Since the announcement of our ElectriPlast technology some five years ago, Integral has kept its shareholders informed with an average of five press releases a year, the rare CEO update and occasional articles about the virtues of ElectriPlast. As modest as Bellingham’s communications output was, at least we had some indication as to where we were heading, if we were going according to the compass and whether we were on the cusp of great things.
What's different this year? Simply put, it’s the lack of news from Bellingham! With most of the second quarter of our “commercialization year” behind us, the Boyz in Bellingham haven’t seen fit to tell us what’s happening. After all, transparency is a keystone of good governance, corporate responsibility, and accountability, so says Sarbanes-Oxley. But as far as we, the shareholders (owners, really) of Integral are concerned, they must have acquired a copy of Harry Potter’s Cloak of Invisibility! They are nowhere to be seen or heard. To be sure, the first shareholders meeting will be interesting because many of us are annoyed due to the protracted periods of silence by management.
And we’re not expecting the family jewels or inside information! Numerous microcaps show respect for their investors by communicating with them on a regular basis, however trivial that shared word might be. Integral could publish a CEO update containing general information; it could send the articles it releases to the media to shareholders with a brief note; it could discuss the status of the long exposed ElectriPlast.Com web site. There are other non-proprietary issues that could be included, but they don’t even inform us when new patents are received. How bad is that?
So, What are they Buzzing About?
While the foregoing are issues we would like addressed by our CEO, Bill Robinson, we realize that much cannot be discussed due to proprietary relationships, first-to-market issues and the competitive nature of the various industries with whom we are partnered. Be that as it may, rumors are rampant in Integral shareholder circles as well as in the ElectriPlast Blog readership, all of which counts for hundreds of shareholders and/or interested parties around the world. Here is what they are buzzing about:
-- Many business relationships, not all at the deal stage, are very close to fruition.
-- Some of these “near” deals are MAJOR in scope. How major? JARCO can crank out 50,000 pounds of ElectriPlast per month, but scuttlebutt claims capacity can be increased by several factors--and this may well be needed to meet all of the rumored demands.
-- Many of the interested companies are said to be pillars in their respective industries, including Fortune 500 entities.
-- ElectriPlast is said to have left a lasting impression on many former skeptics who didn’t think “plastic” could conduct electricity. Now, it is no longer a question of if it can conduct electricity, but to what other operational applications can they apply it to.
-- The cost of raw commodity metals is having an impact on availability and pricing. (See ElectriPlast: A Limited Supply of Copper in a Demanding World.) EB Editor Vince has detailed this aspect numerous times in the past -- he's right on all counts. As the cost of these metals rise, the attractiveness of ElectriPlast will increase many fold.
-- Some time ago, ChangeWave predicted the path ElectriPlast would take as the impact of its entry into the marketplace attracted attention. Those predictions may soon become reality and shareholders will be in for a fast, fun filled ride.
And there you have it folks! Our stock price is low, but our expectations are high; this company will make it sooner than later. One might look at the lack of news and argue that Integral’s reluctance to share information is due to previously raised false hopes. (Remember Knowles?) Also, that a measured approach would better serve all concerned. On the other hand, we shareholders are also stakeholders and behind the scenes risk-takers who have a right to know where we stand. However, whatever the prevailing view, the dice are in Mr. Robinson's hands, and the knowing rumors whisper that no matter how the dice roll, high or low, we shareholders are destined to win.
Now, to answer the question I raised in the sub-title. Are we really closer to commercialization? Absolutely! In fact, as I listen to the rumors and whispers coming in to the ElectriPlast Blog desk, I am convinced that we are much closer to commercialization than ever.
So where does that leave us??? Come on, Bill. The ‘natives’ are getting restless!
Stay tuned…
PK sends….
[ElectriPlast Blog Editor Vince contributed to this article.]
posted by PK... | 6/02/2008 06:01:00 AM
16 Comments:
Hello PK:
Reading this latest entry early Monday morning is a nice way to awake and begin another *hopeful* week.
Wouldn't it be great if capacity should be our only problem in regards to EP? I dream of the day.
I believe that one of the official press releases from last year stated something to the effect (I'm certainly not quoting) that the production equipment and manufacturing process had been tweaked and customized during the previous 6+ months (again I do not remember the exact length of time) and though current capacity was about 50k lbs a month that it could be quickly increased to satisfy demand.
Let's all hope that Jasper is busy figuring out how quickly they can increase production 4 fold.. That's my dream this Monday morning.
The reason management has not been forthcoming is that their fabulous laboratory curiosities have met with commercial failure. There is a huge gap between the lab and the market and it cannot be bridged with hope. They stated that 2007 was their year to commercialize but we have seen no sales and no applications. They have some patents, they have a manufacturing base, they have lots of interest (or so they say). So what's the problem?
Examining their patents shows the problem. They have patented the idea of adding metallic microfibers to plastics and then they proceeded to patent every conceivable application for such a "conductive" plastic. This results in impressive patent numbers but they lack substance i.e. they disclose NO DATA. For example, they have patented an RF oscillator made with electriplast. However, in reading the patent they never disclose the performance or properties of such an oscillator COMPARED TO METALLIC OSCILLATORS. All of the patents I examined show the same lack of data.
I don't doubt that electriplast works - a little. But what has not been demonstrated in the patents or to their development partners is that the material works well enough to replace the incumbent materials: metallic conductors.
And that is why there is no news from Bellingham.
Anonymous...just curious...why would JARCO be investing so much to produce this product if what you state is correct...like I said I'm just curious why this employee owned company would spend so much of their hard earned $$ on producing Electriplast if it wasn't able to be commercialized...isn't that what they are in business for...not saying too much for JARCO's CEO if what you're implying is correct...JB in AZ
I cannot find anywhere the stated amount of investment of JARCO. I've read lots of assumpions and speculation, but nowhere can I find any actual statement by either company the actual dollars invested in equipment or labor to manufacture EP.
I'm a long term investor in ITKG, but am beginning to believe that this is a tragic mistake. Seems to me that over the past year all the company has said new is: 1) this process is going to take a very long time, 2)ITKG has hired new lawyers to get ready for lawsuits, and 3)based on the last 10Q, ITKG has now (as of this post) about 5 months of cash left. Get ready for futher dilution and resulting devaluation of the stock price. If the company had anything good to say, they would most assuredly say it. In this case, my worst fears are coming true - there's nothing good happening with this company.
Still hanging in there.
KLN
I'm thoroughly disgusted. I've been in this for quite a while and basically don't have anything to lose as It's all been lost. I understand it's a gamble, but the silence is what just kills me.
I've taken this "10 bagger tip" from the biggest idiot and effing, self servin a-hole in the investment community, Tobin Smith. If you want to make money, short everything he recommends the day he recommends it.
Jasper has invested in equipment and time into this. We do not have a number but that all has a cost and they have been at it for over a year now. One would think they so far might have an idea this works. If they step back its all over and ITKG is history.
This is not looking good at all with no news but it could also be that this is getting very close to a deal of some kind. Just hope it not a cut and run deal and we are all left out in the cold as it feels that way at this point.
I don't quite understand all the doom and gloom. Guess each individual investor has to decide their own breaking point. I've currently lost more than I'd care to admit on this investment. But I'm still a believer in Electriplast and have not heard or read anything that it doesn't do what ITKG claims it does. I'm personally going to stick around and see where this ride ends up. Don't really have a clue at this time where or how it will end.
Not going anywhere yet...JB in AZ
JB - First of all let me start by saying that I've been in the same boat as you for several years now and the frustration and pain (like every other shareholder) has been building. Unfortunately, management of any public company is never quick to admit when something has gone wrong or failed, if they admnit to it at all - the benefit of being an insider I suppose. If things go bad they can sell of their positions before you and I ever even knew what happened. What would really be nice to see is a few stock purchases by the insiders.
One thing that has always frustrated / confounded me about this company is their total lack of communication with the shareholders. I believe PK has pushed for them to at least consider using their e-mail distribution list (which gets VERY LITTLE use) for communicating some of the general goings-on with the company, yet to no avail. This isn't rocket-science; other OTC companies do it all the time. I'm not talking about some big "puff-pieces" that amount to nothing -- just some general direction / guidance as to where we're headed.
Is that too much to ask?
I guess so.
My daughter bought EP several years ago and so believed in the technology that she refused to sell it when it reached its $4 high point. Now she is raising 3 children on her own, trying to find funds for college educations, etc; the expenses she thought EP would someday be covering. She is still hanging in there, saying she would buy more stock if she had the means to do so.
The last time I had long-term stock in a company that was as silent as ITKG has been, I was taken to the cleaners. I am nearly ready to sell my ITKG stock at a loss and use whatever is left to help with my grandson's college. But, like most everyone else, I would hate to be in it this long, give up, and then find EP has finally taken off.
Does management even read these posts? The lack of news - any news! - is demoralizing.
We've now passed the halfway point in 2008. It's been seven months since stating an a joint ITKG/Jasper press release "we believe that Integral has moved from the R&D stage of the development of its ElectriPlast™ technology to the next phase being a commercial enterprise." And still not one commercial order has been announced. Not a one.
We continue to hear on this blog or other message boards that according to trusted sources good news is "near" but not a single time has it actually proven true. Although in the case of the most recent article on this blog, one month might be too soon to pass judgement. But as an example, NYSEPICK, who I believe is a contributor to this blog, stated on the Investor'shub site in Q1 that "Most of my contacts believe the end of Q1 or sometime in Q2 is the time when things will pop." We now know how good those contacts turned out to be, and it's the same every time.
It was my hope that Integral would be able to get things going commercially before having to enter another round of dilutive financing but that hope has faded. They'll need to get additional funds in the next few months as no company can take the risk of waiting until their last month of cash. It'll take a lot of shares at $.50 a share...ouch.
hello?.... Bellingham?.... Are you out there???
"Many business relationships, not all at the deal stage, are very close to fruition.
-- Some of these “near” deals are MAJOR in scope..."
Your "near" & "very close" descriptions are becoming more synonomous with ITKG's IR's "soon" with each passing week...;)
Based on what I've read on other sites there are some investors that have apparently spoken directly with management, for example Tom him self. Has anyone asked management or investor relations if they are anticipating further dilution? They may choose to not answer that question, but that is something all the LL's have earned the right to ask.
I understand the concern with dilution, in general terms, but not when it comes to Integral. Why? 1) They have < 50M shares outstanding, which is infinitesimally small for an OTC stock; 2) They have been very prudent in their use of shares over the years; 3) How much of an impact did past placements have on the SP? It has been negligible, if not totally non-existent.
The fact that they do have <50m shares is exactly why dilution is a concern for investors. The company's 10k states (several times) that further dilution would most likely have a negative impact on share price. You're right, they have done a good job so far with financing. Let's hope it stays that way - I've seen several small companies get held hostage by PIPE's and other financing vehicles. One way or another we'll be hearing from management soon.
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