DELAND, Fla., June 17, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Berkshire Asset Management, Inc. (Pink Sheets:BSSM) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Unisphere of Florida, Inc., has leased 11,400 square feet in the Deland Industrial Park to facilitate the manufacturing of its unique hollow microspheres product.
Steve Hinsley, COO of Unisphere, states, "We are excited to have opened our state-of-the-art facility. Our equipment is in place and our production line nearly complete. We anticipate producing samples of our product for numerous clients who have expressed interest in our microspheres as an additive for there coating products."
The Company's microspheres are used in the multi-billion-dollar paint business to provide insulating and energy efficient qualities resulting in beneficial savings of fuel consumption for heating and cooling purposes. Unisphere's products represent a dramatic improvement to those in the market today and the Company believes they can be produced at a fraction of the cost of similar products. In addition, the Company produces a totally unique line which will separate Unisphere from its competitors and distinguish its products in the future.
About The Company
Unisphere of Florida, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Asset Management, Inc. (Pink Sheets:BSSM), is in the business of manufacturing and marketing microspheres. Microspheres are very small hollow glass spheres (sometimes referred to as shells) that are used in insulating materials, coatings, paints, stucco, and other industrial and consumer applications. The insertion of microspheres into various materials and products substantially improves the thermal resistive characteristics of the materials making the products more energy efficient. Initial target markets include industrial, residential and commercial construction, maintenance, storage tanks, automotive manufacturers, roof coatings and the marine industry.
There is a broad range of applications for the use of microspheres as a lightweight, insulation filler in products. Some near-term examples are:
- Exterior paints -- the product replaces titanium dioxide (TIO2), the chemical that makes paint white. Using microspheres rather than TIO2 provides substantial cost savings for paint manufacturers on a per-gallon volumetric basis. The paints show improved scrubability or durability, and the size of the microspheres manufactured by the Company gives them the ability to reflect infrared rays, thereby improving thermal insulation when used in roof paints in hot climates. Management believes that replacing TIO2 is the greatest short-term opportunity given that microspheres are a more economical additive and provide an energy efficiency component to the coating products.
- Products such as fiberglass and other syntactic mixtures -- microspheres are used to enhance the thermal qualities of the manufactured product. This provides more control in the setting process and greater control of the finished goods. In these applications, microspheres are used for density compensation where same-size materials need to have varying weights.
Unisphere produces microspheres in sizes ranging from 10 to 150 microns and are differentiated from other similar products in two ways. First, the unavailability of the small-size microspheres, from 10 to 25 microns, which the Company produces gives an added advantageous price point. Second, the Company believes that its proprietary technology gives it a competitive cost advantage over other manufacturers.