MANCHESTER, N.H., July 28, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QED Connect Inc. (Pink Sheets:QEDN), a New York corporation ("QED Connect"), today announced that it has completed its Joint Venture Agreement with Sofame Technologies, Inc. ("Sofame Technologies") (TSX-V:SDW). The Joint Venture company, Sofame Energy, Inc., has been incorporated in Nevada with headquarters to be established in downtown Chicago for the purpose of exclusively distributing, selling and supporting Sofame's current and future products in the United States.
Under the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement, QED and Sofame Technologies will initially be the only equity owners of Sofame Energy and will share revenue of Sofame Energy. The joint venture will also establish strategic relationships and assist the marketing and business development efforts. Sofame Energy has initially organized a debt financing arrangement, potentially up to $1 million, to support expansion into the US market as well as further product development at Sofame Technologies in Canada.
Over the last three months, Sofame Technologies has closed over $1.6 million in US orders including: $1 million to design and install a Sofame Stream Pump® at a well known university in New Jersey for a system that will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions while simultaneously increasing the overall efficiency of the large boiler plant, and a $555,000 order from a major pharmaceuticals manufacturer for a custom Percotherm® heat recovery system that is designed to reduce natural gas consumption and carbon emissions.
John Gocek, Sofame Technologies President and CEO, said, "With a US headquarters in Chicago, Sofame Energy is in a much better position to supply customers with a US made product at competitive costs and which qualifies for state and local grant programs and other assistance. The US is a key part of our growth strategy and Sofame Energy gives us the presence in this market to help us continue to win business."
A recent McKinsey & Co. report entitled Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy, estimates that savings of 23% per year in overall energy consumption could be achieved by employing energy efficient systems in the United States. This would require an investment of $50 billion per year over the next 10 years, representing a four to five fold increase in current spending. The resulting annual energy savings could reach $130 billion annually by 2020 according to the study.
Tom Makmann, President & CEO of QED Connect, stated, "The completion of the Joint Venture marks a significant step in QED's strategy of partnering with and investing in early stage companies with strong revenue growth potential. Sofame is in an exciting new market that has high growth potential with a proven technology that gives the company a competitive advantage. In addition to Sofame Energy, we expect to close our acquisition of Nazz Productions within the next 30 days, and are continuing to explore additional opportunities to increase shareholder value."
About QED Connect, Inc.
QED Connect, Inc. is a New York corporation holding company which makes acquisitions, investments, and enters into strategic business partnerships. The Company seeks businesses with strong potential which QED can assist in achieving their plans and realizing their maximum potential. This business model achieves the Company's goals and expands its overall revenue and profits and diversifies through entry into the multiple market segments. It is QED's intention to help its partners and subsidiaries realize growth, and that growth would, in turn, enhance QED's ability to increase shareholder value. www.qedconnect.com
About Sofame Technologies Inc.
Sofame Technologies Inc. custom engineers and manufactures unique, high-efficiency direct-contact industrial hot water systems which extract up to 99 percent of heat from flue gases depending on the application, and return the energy in the form of high-temperature hot water or pre-heated make-up air. Sofame's products help hospitals, food processing plants, universities, central heating plants, utilities and many more large energy consumers to significantly reduce fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Using world-leading, patented green technology, Sofame serves industrial, institutional and commercial markets through a network of dedicated engineering representatives. For more information, www.sofame.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "future," "may," "will," "would," "should," "plan," "projected," "intend," and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of QED Connect, Inc., (the "Company") to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company's future operating results are dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to the Company's ability to: (i) obtain sufficient capital or a strategic business arrangement to complete the Joint Venture with Sofame and to fund QED's overall expansion plans; (ii) build the management and human resources and infrastructure necessary to support the growth of its Joint Venture with SoFame and to fund QED's growth, generally ; (iii) successfully obtain and fill potential Joint Venture product orders; (iv) generate sufficient revenue and efficiently manage operations to obtain profitability ; (v) competitive factors and developments beyond the Company's control; and (vi) other risk factors.