NEW YORK, July 29, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Formed in 1982, the MFIC Corporation (OTCBB:MFIC) is committed to developing and manufacturing proprietary technology for the manufacturing of mixing and formulating equipment for fluid process applications, Gruverman told www.wallst.net.
MFIC's Microfluidizer technology, which the company's core business is formed around, provides a "Means of processing liquids at the highest possible energy inputs, significantly higher than any competitive equipment," Gruverman said.
One widespread application of Microfluidizer technology is in cell disruption which "Has done superbly by (MFIC's) equipment," Gruverman said. "I would venture to say there isn't a significant number of biotech companies that don't own a Microfluidizer and use it at the bench and plan to use it when they scale up after approval of their drug."
Five years ago, the company made several acquisitions that "have acted as a very substantial anchor for (their) performance," Gruverman said, "But (they've) pretty much washed (their) way through that," evident by their first quarter profit of nearly $200,000. Gruverman said second-quarter profits will be similar and he projected that, "By the end of the year, (MFIC) should make $0.12 to $0.15 per-share."
"I think the basic message is that our core business is very healthy, and has been for a very long time," he said. "We have been cash flow positive for more than four years, and we think the core business can sustain growth in the 15 to 20 percent range, and possibly higher if we raise some capital to put into additional, extensive marketing and sales efforts."
The company also has a new proprietary line of equipment called the Multiple Stream Mixer/Reactor system (MMR) that Gruverman believes "will be the technology adopted by all chemical companies that make certain types of chemicals made by precipitation and other processes. The equipment has been built and has had over $4 million of development work put in it. We've built a number of devices that have been tried by other companies and have seen some other positive results with it." Although the company needs additional capital in order to complete the development process for manufacturing and to publicize and promote the equipment, Gruverman said that once the capital is raised, he believes MFIC will "see growth in excess of anything (the company) has talked about in the past."
Gruverman estimated the size of the formulating and mixing equipment for fluid process application industry is approximately half-a-billion to $800 million. "We haven't made great penetration, and we think our sales curve will respond dramatically to substantial inputs of additional marketing and selling resources," he said. Even with their lack of penetration in the market, the $15 million-plus company has managed to stay afloat, and even see a profit, with many of their customers being Fortune 500 pharmaceutical and biotech companies, Gruverman said.
With MFIC's focus on "controlling size and uniformity of liquids and solid suspension in liquids in the sub-micron range," and the recent attention given to nanotechnology, Gruverman said that MFIC's equipment, "particularly, (the equipment) which is partially based on Microfluidizer technology, is going to have a lot to say about who can successfully and economically make nanoparticle products in the future."
To hear the entire interview, visit www.wallst.net
About MFIC Corporation
MFIC Corporation, through its Microfluidics Division, provides patented and proprietary, high performance Microfluidizer(r) materials processing equipment to the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic/personal care, and food processing industries. Through its divisions, the Company provides leading equipment, and innovative technology and solutions to the chemicals, paints, pigments and coatings industries for milling, deagglomeration and dissolving. The combined resources and capabilities of the Company's equipment lines are used to provide comprehensive solutions for materials processing.
About www.wallst.net
www.wallst.net is owned and operated by Digital Wall Street Inc., a multimedia provider of original, insightful commentary and news from North America's leading companies. Giving a direct link to the management of today's fastest-growing companies through encompassing executive interviews and Sector Seminars. The company offers both a free service to consumers, and a premium, paid, monthly subscription to its members. We are receiving a fee of $1,000 from the company for the dissemination of this release and advertising space on our page. In the future we may have an additional business relationship. Current disclaimers are found at http://www.wallst.net/disclaimer.asp