RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- HydroFlo, Inc. (OTCBB:HYRF) today announced that CEO Dennis L. Mast has discussed the market potential of the Company's water treatment and security technologies and HydroFlo management's expectations for growth and market penetration in the future with Kipley J. Lytel, an analyst associate with Spelman Research. Mr. Lytel, CFA and a senior partner with money management firm Montecito Capital Management, has over fifteen years of investment finance experience, with expertise in equity valuation, credit analysis, private placements and buy/sell recommendations.
The U.S federal government is allocating billions of dollars in grants and other funding programs to upgrade the nation's aging and deteriorating water infrastructure, and some of the focus of improving the national water supply is expected to be on wastewater treatment and similar technologies. With the EPA report to Congress of an estimated 100,000 major pumping stations across the United States, HydroFlo Water Treatment, Inc. (HWTI), the Company's water treatment subsidiary, continues to introduce its patented PLUS pre-treatment system to a growing number of these facilities each year.
"At an projected cost of $250,000 per PLUS system for major pumping stations and even a modest capture rate of 0.05% per year of the total available market, HydroFlo Water Treatment would generate $125 million in gross revenue, which would result in a significant increase in portfolio value for the Company. While these may seem to be ambitious goals for HydroFlo, we are confident that the advantages of the PLUS system and the Company's increasingly effective sales and marketing program will allow HWTI to add customers and increase its capture rate in this market," commented Dennis Mast, CEO of HydroFlo.
HydroFlo has previously announced its participation in a number of state and federal grant programs totaling well over $40 billion through federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These grants may assist potential customers to finance the upgrade of their existing sewage facilities and drinking water facilities to include the PLUS system. The potential customer typically uses chemicals to control odors from hydrogen sulfide created by the anaerobic wastewater. Use of the HydroFlo PLUS System will provide control of odor and corrosion resulting from hydrogen sulfide, reducing or eliminating the use of costly chemicals.
The National Resources Defense Council, a national, nonprofit organization of scientists and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment, recently stated that U.S. waters are at risk with more than 300,000 miles of rivers and shorelines, as well some 5 million acres of lakes are considered polluted. EPA estimates are that clean water infrastructure needs nationwide will cost $390 billion over the next 15 years.
About the Company
HydroFlo, Inc. (http://www.hydroflo.us) is a Business Development Company, as defined by the Investment Act of 1940. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, HydroFlo's core focus is to seek out synergistic acquisitions that will provide capital appreciation and income from its portfolio companies. Its first portfolio investment company, HydroFlo Water Treatment, Inc. (http://www.hydroflo-inc.com) is in the business of providing aeration equipment used for the pre-treatment of wastewater. Using the patented Pressure Line Up-Stream or PLUS pre-treatment system, HydroFlo Water Treatment provides customers a treatment process at their pumping stations, prior to the wastewater reaching a treatment plant. Its most recent investment company, Arsenic Removal Technologies, Inc. is in the business of providing methods and services for the removal of arsenic from drinking water to meet the current EPA requirements of less than 10 parts per billion by January 2006.
Statements regarding financial matters in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company intends that such statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements (future operational results and sales) involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from expected results.