OTTAWA, Dec. 20, 2018 /CNW/ - Clearford Water
Systems Inc. ("Clearford" or the "Company"), (TSXV: CLI),
today announced that its subsidiary, Clearford
India Pvt. Ltd., has signed contracts for two new
Clearford One® system installations for villages in
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu States. This new announcement was
accompanied by an update on the Company's recent activity in
India in the second half of 2018,
including the commissioning of two industrial wastewater systems
and the signing of another project at an industrial site in
Gujarat.
Design work is underway for the project in Alwa village, Gujarat
State, after the first work order for Phase 1 was issued by
the Indian multi-national firm Larsen & Toubro Limited
(L&T) subsidiary, L&T Hydrocarbon
Engineering Ltd., on August 29, 2018. The complete
design-build project for a Clearford One sanitation system is
being funded through corporate-social responsibility (CSR)
programming to improve public health in the village.
When all phases are complete, the wastewater system will serve
over 1,200 people in this rural village outside of Vadodara.
Clearford will provide end-to-end wastewater servicing for the
community, which is 4 times larger than the village in Gujarat
where the first Clearford One system in India was installed in 2016.
The second new project, located in rural Tamil Nadu State,
was signed on December 14, 2018. Clearford will deliver
improved sanitation for approximately 130 people in Rangapuram
Colony, Poondi village, through a CSR partnership of the Murugappa
Group's Cholamandalam Investment & Finance
Company Ltd. with The Voice Foundation, a local Indian entity
of the Christian Children's Fund of Canada.
Both projects will include wastewater collection and treatment
infrastructure with low-cost constructed wetland facilities
providing final treatment to local agricultural reuse water quality
standards. The Clearford One system is designed to be operated
by trained local people with minimal electricity usage, making it a
sustainable model for sanitation in rural India.
Kevin Loiselle, President &
CEO of Clearford, explained the significance of these projects to
the Company's objectives in the Indian market: "We are pleased to
see the Clearford One system gain continued traction in the
Indian market with the implementation of a larger village project
in Gujarat State, where the first Clearford One installation
successfully demonstrated the value and performance of the
technology for sustainable village sanitation. The Poondi project
establishes another Clearford demonstration site, now in the
South India region where there is
a well-documented need for sanitation solutions in rural
communities."
Mr. Loiselle also discussed the growing interest in
Clearford's complete solution for commercial and industrial
developments. "A second wastewater project has been signed with
Hilti Manufacturing India Pvt. Ltd. and a third is being
discussed following the success of the first installation for
on-site treatment and beneficial reuse of wastewater from toilet
and washroom facilities at the company's plant in Navsari, Gujarat"
he explained. A similar system was installed by Clearford earlier
in 2018 at the McCain Foods (India) plant in Mehsana District, Gujarat.
"Clearford continues to pursue several advanced opportunities
for industrial site wastewater systems across India as these operations seek out low cost
solutions for reusing water and reducing their environmental
footprint," said Mr. Loiselle.
Mr. Loiselle, who visited project sites and met with Indian
partners in November, expressed enthusiasm over Clearford's recent
progress in India. "We expect to
continue gaining momentum in the Indian market as these new
projects are completed in 2019, and as deeper strategic
relationships are developed with India's business and philanthropic
communities," he said.
"This promising outlook in India complements the Company's progress in
North America, where the new
business model is on track to generate significant revenue growth
starting in 2019. Our North American sales will be down in 2018 due
to the early winter weather conditions we are facing and the
Company will not meet its originally forecasted Q4 revenue targets
released in its November 14, 2018
press release. It is expected that revenues will be below
$2 million for the quarter. The
reduction is due to project delays and will increase our 2019
opening backlog. It is expected that the revenue associated with
these project delays will be realized during the first and second
quarters of 2019" Mr. Loiselle concluded.
In addition to the above, the Company is also announcing that it
has amended its November 19, 2014
Loan Agreement to reduce the interest rate from 11% to 9.75%. It
has also agreed to a change in interest payment terms from annual
payments to semi-annual payments due in May and November of each
year respectively. There were no other changes to the terms and
conditions of the loan.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
About Clearford Water Systems Inc.
Clearford Water Systems is a provider of unified water
management solutions for the design, deployment, financing and
operation of water infrastructure systems. The Company's
technology-based water solutions include
Clearford One® wastewater infrastructure systems,
Clearford M-brane™ packaged treatment solutions, and a full range
of UV Pure® water disinfection products. For more
information, visit www.clearford.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains certain statements that constitute
forward-looking statements as they relate to the Company and its
management. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but
represent management's current expectation of future events, and
can be identified by words such as "believe," "expects," "will,"
"intends," "plans," "projects," "anticipates," "estimates,"
"continues," and similar expressions. Although management believes
that the expectations represented in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will
prove to be correct.
By their nature, forward-looking statements include assumptions
and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. If
and when forward-looking statements are set out in this news
release, Clearford will also set out the material risk factors or
assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements. Except
as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company
assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking
statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not
limited to: industry cyclicality; the ability to secure third-party
agreements; successful integration of Clearford's system with
third-party technology; competition; reduction in demand for
products; collection from customers; relationships with suppliers;
product liability; intellectual property; reliance on key
personnel; environmental factors; interest rates; uninsured and
underinsured losses; operating hazards; risks of future legal
proceedings; income tax matters; credit facilities; availability
and terms of financing; distribution of securities; restrictions on
potential growth; effect of market interest rates on price of
securities; and potential dilution.
SOURCE Clearford Water Systems Inc.