GreenMan Technologies Increases Capacity in Its Jackson, Ga., Facility
3 May 1999
GreenMan Technologies Increases Capacity in Its Jackson, Ga., Facility More Than 40 Percent; Southeast "Hub Plant" Now Capable of Processing 10 Million Tires Annually
LYNNFIELD, Mass.--May 3, 1999--GreenMan Technologies Inc. reported that its Ga.-based subsidiary, GreenMan Technologies of Georgia Inc., has increased production capacity by over 40 percent at its Jackson facility. The plant is now capable of processing 10 million scrap tires on an annual basis. As a result of the increased capacity, GreenMan is able to fully consolidate tires from the Lawrenceville, Georgia operation acquired from United Waste and extend its range of service around its Jackson facility to include areas in Tennessee, Alabama and Florida."We are very pleased to note that the capacity increase in our Georgia plant was made possible through ingenuity and an extremely modest amount of operating cash, and did not necessitate a large capital expense," said Robert H. Davis, president and chief executive officer of GreenMan Technologies.
"Increasing capacity -- that is, improving our ability to accomodate more scrap tires through the front door and more tire-chips out the back door, without increasing our fixed costs -- is a critically important success factor for GreenMan," Davis explained. "Our profitability model hinges on economies of scale. Thus, the capacity increase in Jackson is another important step toward implementing our strategy of sourcing more tires through mergers and acquisitions, as well as via internal growth."
"Our core business is driven by collecting current-generation scrap tires from retail stores and other sources on a continuing basis," said James Maust, GreenMan's Vice President for Southeast Operations. "Thus, our extended range of service made possible by this capacity increase will now allow us to process millions of additional scrap tires from several nearby states through our hub facility in Jackson."
In addition to current-generation tires, GreenMan generates revenue through the clean-up and recycling of scrap-tire stockpiles. The Company announced last week that its Georgia subsidiary has completed the clean-up of nearly one million scrap tires and residual piled near Roberta, Ga., and expects to begin cleaning up a 1.35 million scrap tire pile near Savannah, Ga., this month.
"Tire pile clean-up projects provide us with the means to utilize plant capacity while internal growth continues," Maust said. "This is where our size and environmental reputation give us an advantage in the marketplace. We can undertake large clean-up projects and still have the `event' be a relatively small portion of our overall business."
Once scrap tires arrive at GreenMan Technologies' tire-recycling plant in Jackson, Ga., the tires are shredded and the bead wire and steel are removed. The remaining rubber is in the form of two-inch-by-two-inch square chips. These chips are considered a superior product for energy-related and civil-engineering applications.
Already the second-largest U.S. scrap tire-recycler, GreenMan Technologies intends to become the leading company in the industry.
"Safe Harbor" Statement: Under the Private Security Litigation Reform Act
With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or collectively impact the matters herein described, including but not limited to product acceptance, economic, competitive, governmental, results of litigation, technological and/or other factors outside the control of the Company, which are detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended December 31, 1998. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.