It was announced earlier this week that PVAXX Industries, the commercial materials sales corporation, has concluded Letters of Intent worth $300 million during the Bahrain Grand Prix with regional and international shipping pallet buyers, including those from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Northern Europe.
The conclusion of these letters coincided with the Company’s recent agreement with Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC), whereby PVAXX will build, own and operate a manufacturing facility in the Port of Sohar as well as the signing of a lump sum turnkey contract with INMA, a subsidiary of Saudconsult, the oldest civil engineering company in Saudi Arabia, for the project’s development.
According to the agreement, INMA will take charge of the planning and construction of the Sohar facility in addition to two other factories being established by PVAXX, which include one in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA and another in a yet to be determined location in Central Europe. The contract, valued at US$210 million, is being financed by PVAXX through the payment of US$60 million in cash and US$150 million in equity to INMA.
The Sohar manufacturing facility will be capable of producing 150 million Siluma ® shipping pallets per year in its initial phase of output. Siluma® pallets are recyclable, cheaper and more durable than many alternative pallets and have been designed to allow customers to replace traditional wooden pallets in order to achieve greater cost efficiencies whilst simultaneously reducing the burden on the global environment.
Speaking at a signing ceremony in Muscat for the establishment of the Sohar facility on 6 April, Mr. Henry Stevens, Chief Operating Officer and Director of PVAXX commented, “We are delighted with strong global demand from customers for the PVAXX Siluma® pallets as reflected by the agreements recently signed over the weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix as well as our recently concluded partnership with INMA. We continue our strong commitment to our presence in this region and have selected Sohar for the site of our first GCC manufacturing facility because of its excellent location, world class infrastructure and the presence of internationally recognised common service providers as well as the strong and timely support from the Government of the Sultanate of Oman.”
According to INMA President, Faisal Shawaf, “We are delighted to have been selected by PVAXX for the development of their regional and international pallet manufacturing facilities. We have great confidence in the competitive advantages of the PVAXX pallet and are pleased to become both a partner and stakeholder in the Company’s future growth and success as it moves to meet strong and fast growing global demand.”
The Sohar plant is scheduled to commence production of pallets in the second half of 2005 and PVAXX has already made significant strides in the sourcing of raw materials for the facility having also recently concluded supply contracts for polyethylene and sand, major components in the production of PVAXX Siluma® pallets in anticipation of the timely conclusion of development and construction plans of its Sohar facility.
PVAXX, through its regional office in Manama, had initially intended to establish its first GCC facility in the Kingdom of Bahrain, however, after undertaking advanced feasibility studies, final design specifications and site approvals, Sohar was selected as the first location. PVAXX will continue to evaluate further opportunities for expansion in the region.
