TIDMGPL
RNS Number : 3850P
Graft Polymer (UK) PLC
20 June 2022
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation No. 596/2014, which forms part of
United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended).
20 June 2022
Graft Polymer (UK) Plc
("Graft Polymer", the "Company", and together with its
subsidiaries, the "Group")
Operational Update - Delivering on Key Milestones
Graft Polymer (UK) Plc (LSE: GPL), a business focused on the
development and commercial production of polymer modification,
biological supplements, and nano-drug delivery systems, is pleased
to provide an update following recent key operational milestones
achieved at its Research, Development and Manufacturing facility in
Slovenia.
Very importantly with respect to the Company's commercial
operations, the Group's Slovenian operation has recently reached
cash flow positive status through organic growth of its production
contracts. This represents a key financial and strategic milestone
for the Group.
In addition, as set out in the Prospectus at the time of
Admission, part of the Group's use of funds strategy was to invest
in a new line of production and laboratory equipment to support
revenue growth through increasing production capacity, allowing the
continued development of new products and technologies. The Group
has had confirmation from its equipment suppliers of delivery of
key pieces of new equipment to Graft Polymer's production and
research facility in Slovenia in the coming weeks. The new
equipment will enable the Company to double its production
capacity, cost efficiencies and decrease the finished goods
delivery time to customers. The commissioning and operation of this
new production line and research & development equipment will
ensure Graft Polymer is well positioned to continue its pioneering
and market leading research and technology commercialisation in the
polymer modification, biological supplements, and drug delivery
systems industry.
New key equipment includes:
-- Microwave Dryer tunnel for porous granules drying process - Pivotal to the optimisation and commercialisation of the Group's high value, low competition GRAFTAPOR and GRAFTAKIT products. The Microwave Dryer increases the capacity from 150kg per shift to 350kg per shift by significantly reducing the drying time of porous granules, therefore, reducing the cost of the product to customers by up to 30% and widening the market for these two products.
-- Custom-made equipment for manufacturing of high-quality
Nanoemulsions for Drug Delivery Systems and Bio Supplements - The
equipment will allow the Group's GraftBio Division to deliver
higher-level advanced Bio/Pharma manufacturing solutions based on
Graft Polymer Drug Delivery Systems developments.
-- Ozone/Plasma Polymer Modification module - Offers the
potential to transform current methods of Fluoropolymers
modification of which can be expensive, unsafe, and environmentally
unfriendly. Once proven, the Ozone/ Polymer Modification module has
the potential to revolutionise the Fluoropolymer sector, due to its
industrial scalability and efficient production. It is currently
anticipated that two major classes of products can be modified, the
first being powder coatings for use in responsible applications
where high chemical resistance is a priority and the second in
[nano]alloys to increase abrasion resistance, temperature
resistance, impact strength and reduce friction coefficient.
The Group will be the first to deliver this product which, with
capacity of 200kg per hour, will provide it with a first-mover
advantage over the competition and open new revenue streams in the
long term.
The above equipment items were ordered in April 2022 and form
part of the Group's announced strategy of investing in production
and laboratory equipment to support the growth of the Group through
an increased production capacity to fulfil new commercial orders in
the future, and to allow it to continue to develop new technologies
to provide products and solutions to help its customers improve
their existing products and offer new product ranges.
Victor Bolduev, CEO, commented:
"Delivery logistics and equipment lead times have been
challenging for companies globally, sometimes causing delays to the
overall delivery of a company's strategy. We are very pleased that
our suppliers have confirmed the delivery of this major equipment
across both our Polymers and Bio divisions, enabling us to
accelerate our research into these innovative and potentially
sector-changing products. With the achievement of reaching cash
flow positive at our Slovenia facility through organic growth
alone, the continuous operational developments being made put Graft
Polymer in a good position as we deliver on our strategy."
For more information, please visit https://www.graftpolymer.com
or contact:
Graft Polymer (UK) Plc via Tavistock
Roby Zomer, Chairman
Yifat Steuer, CFO
Turner Pope Investments (Broker) +44 20 3657 0050
James Pope
Andy Thacker
Tavistock (Public Relations) +44 207 920 3150
Heather Armstrong graftpolymer@tavistock.co.uk
Katie Hopkins
About Graft Polymer
Graft Polymer is a UK incorporated holding company with an
innovative research and manufacturing facility, based in Slovenia.
The core business of the Group comprises polymer modification and
drug delivery systems developments. Established in 2017, the Group
has already introduced more than 50 products to the market.
The Group has developed a proprietary set of polymer
modification technologies, which can improve existing products and
processing methodologies by enhancing performance, simplifying
manufacturing, reducing material consumption, widening the choice
of feedstocks, and reducing costs.
In particular, the Group's techniques allow the combination of
otherwise incompatible polymers, facilitating the creation of
polymer composites engineered at a molecular level, that combine
the attractive properties of different input materials. This
enables customers to receive a synergism of properties in polymer
composites.
The solutions and products offered by the Group are designed to
improve performance, reduce raw materials consumption, and enhance
the physical characteristic values of finished products or improve
or modify their chemical interaction. In the past several years,
there has been increased emphasis by the industry as a whole on
applications of grafted polymers, which are produced by monomers
being covalently bonded and polymerised as side chains onto the
main polymer chain (the backbone).
In 2020, the Group launched a new division named GraftBio to
develop IP for Bio/Pharma applications. This includes a drug
delivery system to support and provide solutions to the market,
which had been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The
GraftBio division has been granted HACCP certification for its
production facility. The Group has developed a set of drug delivery
platforms that enable it to licence its DDS platform (IP) to MGC
Pharmaceuticals Limited ("MGC"; LSE: MXC) in relation to MGC's
CimetrA(TM) and CannEpil-IL(TM) products. The Group expects to
receive royalty payments resulting from the sale by MGC of
CimetrA(TM) and CannEpil-IL(TM) products.
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