JUPITER, Fla., July 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GelTech Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB:GLTC), creators of FireIce, a revolutionary water enhancing fire suppressant that has the potential to change current firefighting techniques globally, today announced an update to previous corporate releases and initiatives.
Domestic
On March 10, 2011, the Company achieved the long awaited goal of receiving approval from the United States Forest Service to have FireIce listed on the Qualified Products List. In the 3 months since receiving the approval, the Company has been working with various government agencies to have FireIce and our Mobile Mixing Apparatus submitted into the deployment and procurement systems used by the United States Forest Service and State Forestry Divisions. Our corporate focus has been to dedicate time, effort and capital into the Southwest and Western regions of the US, as these are the areas that are most susceptible to wildfires. We are looking forward to servicing the United States Forest Service when called upon. However, long delays are normal before new products are selected by governments and large corporations.
During the time of June 9th – 16th, the Company sent a team to the Wallow Fire, specifically Luna, New Mexico, with the directive of assisting as many homeowners as possible in protecting their homes at no cost. As well, the Company donated product to departments or trucks that accepted assistance at that critical time. The officers that used the product had great feedback for the Company. We took away a great many positives from the experience. We continue to be optimistic that FireIce will ultimately be the solution chosen by federal and state authorities to fight wildfires.
As previously released on July 11, 2011, FireIce has been purchased by a Fortune 200 Utility Company to be used for fire mitigation in manhole fires. Older cities such as New York, Boston, and Washington DC, have a long history in dealing with manhole fires. Manhole problems occur frequently during cold spells or heat waves; heat and cold strain the infrastructure below the street. Electrical cable failure is at the source of the majority of manhole incidents, and a corroded power cable caused by water in the manholes is the most frequent cause of these incidents. FireIce was selected after 15 months of rigorous 3rd party laboratory evaluations and field tests to prove not only efficacy, but also environmental safety. The Company believes that this is just the first of many in the Utility industry that will be able to benefit from using FireIce for this application. The data from the evaluations leads the customer to believe that they will be able to improve control and suppression of these very difficult fires, which will reduce on site time of the local fire departments and ultimately leading to lessening the negative impact on their customers. We expect re-orders in the ordinary course of business since the utility believes FireIce provides a cost effective and superior solution.
In the first few months of 2011, we expanded our distribution channels by bringing on strong regional and online distributors L.N. Curtis and Sons, Fire Etc., The Supply Cache, The FireStore, and All Hands Fire. The Company has recently completed product training with the outside sales forces of the distributors in the Western region of the US. GelTech is excited to continue expanding the relationship with our distributor network and looks forward to assisting them with their sales opportunities. We believe that our distributors are now in a position to begin to accelerate sales, especially during these warm weather months.
International
GelTech has started the process of opening distribution in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands. We are currently in negotiations with a distributor to be our exclusive agent for this area. We are tentatively scheduled to return to Australia in the September time frame for live fire demonstrations for the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DS&E), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Rural Fire Service NSW, and National Parks and Wildlife. Australia has never fully adopted fire fighting foam. Due to the gap in fire fighting technology, we feel FireIce has a real opportunity to gain market share and become a product that these services can depend on for performance and environmental sensitivity.
Brazil looks to be the first marketplace in South America that FireIce will be certified for usage. The product has already passed all of the toxicology and performance tests. The final certifications are to be completed during the next 60 days in both Minas Gerais and Brasilia. Negotiations with distributors have already begun and will be in place by the time the certifications are scheduled to be completed.
Our efforts in China continue to move forward. Our recent 8-K was an update as to our status. The size of the marketplace is very large and our efforts to bring other resources to enhance the distribution had not come together as planned. So according to the current contract, we delivered "notice to terminate" and the "cure period" has begun. The current distributor reacted to the notice of termination by requesting a meeting to discuss a re-structuring of its agreement and to find a way to work together with our proposed new Chinese distributors. There will be a meeting in California during the week of August 1 to discuss the possibility of resolving our differences and creating joint ventures with other distributors. If no agreement can be reached, the Company will look to finalize negotiations with the proposed new distribution group. The Company estimates that it will take at least until September 2011 before the new distribution group can receive new 'authorized agent' permits from the Chinese Government. We continue to have the utmost confidence that we will resume our distribution efforts in this marketplace.
Soil2O Dust Control
Water conservation continues to be on the forefront of companies who battle dust problems on a daily basis. The cost of controlling dust for these companies is expensive and time consuming. They are constantly on the lookout for better and less expensive ways to control the issue. Because of these constant issues faced in the marketplace, the Company's rollout of the Soil2O Dust Control product for dust mitigation has continued to gain momentum. Over the last 30 days we have added 5 new accounts, accounting for $42,000 in revenue. The product's potential is beginning to be realized. The addition of 2 new distributors in the California marketplace has accelerated the distribution process. We feel that this is going to be an extremely viable revenue stream for the Company moving ahead through the summer and beyond.
About GelTech Solutions:
GelTech Solutions' creates innovative, Earth-friendly, cost-effective products that help industry, agriculture, and the general public accomplish environmental and safety goals, such as water conservation and the protection of lives, homes, and property from fires.
FireIce® is a patent pending fire suppressant used for direct attack of fires as well as a medium term retardant for structure protection. FireIce can be used in all types of apparatus: fire extinguishers, pumper trucks, aerial units for wildfires and home defense units for personal home protection.
Soil2O™'s dust control products and solutions stop all types of particulate matter from entering the air and water, solving even the most stubborn dust control problems. Soil2O™'s proven dust control products and solutions work on: aggregate pits, road construction sites, unpaved roadways, shoulders, and trails, coal, mineral, ore and limestone storage piles, gravel runways, heavy traffic roads, landfills, helipads and construction sites.
For more information on GelTech, please visit: www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr%3Fd=200732%26l=9%26a=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.GelTechSolutions.com%26u=http%253A%252F%252Fus.lrd.yahoo.com%252F_ylt%253DAuHOGp0ePm4FQhUDb0hXLJuliRkC%252FSIG%253D1150v51h1%252F%252A%252Ahttp%25253A%252Fwww.GelTechSolutions.com%252F">http://www.GelTechSolutions.com
To learn more about FireIce, please visit: http://www.fireice.com/">www.fireice.com
To learn more about Soil2O, please visit: http://www.soil2o.com
Join our growing FireIce fan base at: http://www.facebook.com/FireIce911">www.facebook.com/FireIce911
Become a fan of our new homeowner solution at: http://www.facebook.com/FireIceHDU
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including receiving orders from federal and state governments for FireIce, receiving re-orders from the utility, our distributors accelerating sales, results of international sales and expanding Soil2O Dust Control™ revenues. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by words such as "targets," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "may," "will," "plan," "continue," "forecast," "remains," "would," "should," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Actual performance and results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. We caution you therefore against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include competition from current vendors, difficulties including legal barriers in selling internationally, and the reluctance to change.
Further information on our risk factors is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our final prospectus dated November 29, 2010. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise