SARASOTA, Fla., March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sarasota, Florida-based Evolucia Inc. (OTCBB
& OTCQB: ILED) and Warsaw,
Poland-based SETE Sp. z o.o. ("SETE") announce today that
they have finalized a joint venture whereby the companies will work
together to manufacture, market and sell Evolucia's proprietary
energy-efficient LED lighting products throughout Europe under the Evolucia brand.
The joint venture calls for the payment of $11 million (8.5 million
Euros) to Evolucia by August 31,
2013 for the manufacture and distribution rights to the
European markets. Under the joint venture agreement, a new
entity called Evolucia Europe Sp. z o.o. will be created, with
Evolucia Inc. holding a 51% ownership share and SETE holding the
remaining 49% ownership. The joint venture agreement provides
exclusive manufacturing rights to Evolucia Europe for the European
markets. Production of the Evolucia LED Aimed Optics™
fixtures is expected to begin in 2013 at the manufacturing facility
in Radom, Poland.
"This joint venture is a testament to the hard work and vision
that is shared between our two organizations and the importance of
delivering world class lighting solutions to our strategically
focused markets around the world. This agreement signals the
start of an international expansion for our company. Solid State
Lighting will continue to develop for years to come and our
experience is that global customers and investors are looking at
key enablers in the market, with innovative design concepts that
change the course of challenging applications, like our proprietary
Aimed Optics™ technology," said Mel
Interiano, Evolucia Chief Executive Officer. "This critical
$11 million (8.5 million Euros) investment allows us to
leverage key strengths in order to build a world class global
lighting organization capable of supporting what we believe will be
significant revenue growth in the short term with the ability to
expand over the long term."
"This licensing fee will add $9.9
million (7.7 million Euros) to
incremental free cash flow after associated expenses in 2013 (the
equivalent effect of nearly $45 million-34.8
million Euros in revenues) and represents step one of a
broader, multi-step plan we are implementing this year as part of
our financial roadmap to strengthen the company's balance
sheet," said Charles Rockwood,
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Evolucia
Inc.
Evolucia Europe will be headquartered in Warsaw, Poland and will report to the
U.S.-based Evolucia Inc. Arkadiusz
Pietrzykowski has been named president of Evolucia Europe
and will report to Mel Interiano,
CEO of Evolucia Inc. Municipal and public sector lighting
accounts for 75 million points of light across Europe. The
European Union has embarked on an effort to reduce energy
consumption and carbon emissions by 2024. High Pressure
Sodium (HPS) used throughout Europe for street, roadway and parking lot
lighting has been targeted for replacement opening up this large
market to Evolucia's Aimed Optics™ LED Cobra Head roadway lighting
solutions. Poland currently
accounts for 5% of the total market. The Evolucia LED Cobra
Head fixture captured two sought after European awards
winning the Best Product in the 19th International
Fair of Lighting Equipment , LIGHT 2011, and the Leader of
Sustainable Development during the 5th Economic Forum
"Energy and Environment" in Warsaw
in 2011.
"For the time being SETE will subcontract manufacturing in
Radom, Poland in order to start
production shortly. The manufacturing facility is already up and
running and we have begun re-tooling for the European versions of
the Evolucia LED lighting portfolio. We had already begun
outreach to several cities, towns and private businesses in
Europe in anticipation of this
agreement and we expect to commence delivery of the highly
efficient Evolucia LED products to municipal and recreational
customers this year," said Arkadiusz
Pietrzykowski, President, Evolucia Europe.
Evolucia street, roadway, area, garage and parking lot lighting
provides optimum energy savings, excellent color rendition and long
life. In addition, the Evolucia products are designed to
optimize product performance with the company's protected Aimed
Optics™ photometric design. Evolucia delivers a completely
integrated lighting system. By optimizing the photometrics of
the lighting fixtures, light is delivered precisely to the area
being targeted, with minimal spill and waste. Evolucia LED
street lighting delivers 66% energy savings when
compared to traditional light sources. Its average 70,000
hour life translates to years without maintenance and up-keep and
is backed by Evolucia's leading 10 year warranty program.
"Europe is facing the challenge
of delivering massive energy and carbon emissions savings between
now and 2024. Infrastructure lighting offers an incredible
target of opportunity if countries, provinces, cities and towns
leap frog from the commonly used High Pressure Sodium (HPS)
lighting to LED (light emitting diode) lighting solutions.
Our new joint venture with SETE positions us to take advantage of
this dramatic growth in the European lighting markets," added
Interiano.
About Evolucia Inc.
Evolucia Inc. is an industry pioneer in the design, engineering,
manufacture and distribution of high performance LED lighting
systems to the global lighting markets. Evolucia received the
United States Department of Energy's highest award for lighting
within the LED category, and has installed thousands of its
fixtures at military bases, universities, municipalities, and large
commercial entities. Evolucia's LED lighting products are
sold under the brand, Evolucia Lighting
(www.evolucialighting.com).
All Evolucia products offer highly energy efficient, durable,
commercial-grade LED lighting for both indoor and outdoor
applications. The company's award winning cobra head and shoe box
fixtures employ Evolucia's proprietary Aimed Optics™ technology,
which increases light levels and visibility by strategically
directing light to the target area. Evolucia fixtures require
50%-80% less energy than traditional lighting, and last for
approximately 12 years without maintenance.
More information about Evolucia Inc. and its LED lighting
systems is available in the company's Securities and Exchange
filings, which can be found at www.sec.gov or at
www.evolucialighting.com.
About SETE
SETE Sp. z o.o., headquartered in Warsaw, Poland is a private international
investor group organized for the purpose of funding and supporting
the manufacture and distribution LED lighting solutions into
European LED lighting market which is projected to reach
$10 billion (7.7 billion Euros) by 2015.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements made by Evolucia in this press release
are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially
from those projected in forward-looking statements. Evolucia
believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited
to: development and maintenance of strategic acquisitions; domestic
and international acceptance of our product lines; defending our
intellectual property and proprietary rights; development of new
products and services that meet customer demands and generate
acceptable margins; successfully completing commercial testing of
new technologies and systems to support new products and services;
and attracting and retaining qualified management and other
personnel. Additional information concerning these and other
important factors can be found within Evolucia's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press
release should be evaluated in light of these important
factors.
SOURCE Evolucia Inc.