Corporate Profile: 

Disclaimer: Corporate Profile as prepared and approved by featured company.

Corporate Highlights

  • Achieved 21.2% year-over-year sales growth to C$2.25M (US$1.6M) for fiscal 2003 (June 30).

  • Cumulative sales exceed US$12 million since 1992.

  • Four of the top five U.S. homebuilders (with total revenue of US$30 billion), including Centex (NYSE: CTX)  #1 by sales, are using Blazeguard in multi-family dwelling construction.

  • Building materials giant Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), after a two-year due diligence process, listed Blazeguard. Lowe’s de-listed chemical-based FRT plywood, a competitive product.

  • Weyerhaeuser spent over one million dollars assessing 80 fire retardant wood products and concluded Blazeguard’s technology was superior.

  • Popular Science recognized Blazeguard in 1991 with a "Best of What’s New" technology award. 

Company Overview

International Barrier Technology Inc. (“Barrier”) (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSX-V) develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary fire resistant building materials branded as Blazeguard®. With over a decade of sales history and established brand identity, Barrier is leveraging its reputation and experience to target new applications, geographic markets, and emerging industry trends with the goal of increasing market penetration and sales growth.

In December 2003, Barrier announced a sales agreement with Mule-Hide Products Co., Inc. The targeted sales volume in this agreement positions Barrier to potentially double the sales volume achieved in fiscal 2003.

Barrier’s award-winning Blazeguard wood panel uses a patented, non-toxic, non-combustible coating with an extraordinary capability: it releases water in the heat of fire. The panels exceed “model” building code requirements in every targeted fire test and application, and are unique in combining properties that increase panel strength and minimize environmental and human impact. Blazeguard provides Barrier’s customers a premium material choice meeting an increasingly challenging combination of requirements in residential and commercial building construction.

Growing Market Opportunities & Trends

Barrier’s opportunities are driven by key trends:

•   Fire destruction and tragedies (see sidebar on next page) generally drive stricter building code fire safety standards and enforcement, which in  turn drive the multi-billion dollar market for effective fire rated building materials and other fire safety products.

•   Society’s concern about the negative health effects of toxic chemicals and other materials has led to bans on asbestos, certain fire retardant chemicals, and other hazardous materials. The emergence of mold and mildew as a contributor to health issues in “sick” homes is another important factor in building material selection. Consumers and developers/builders increasingly demand materials that minimize environmental and health risks. 

•   A desire for construction efficiencies has driven the adoption of engineered wood products and pre-fabricated assemblies (a market that doubled over four years to $12 billion in 2001). Since many engineered wood products and pre-fabricated assemblies burn and fail quickly in a fire, interest in appropriate and effective fire treatments has increased dramatically.

Blazeguard’s Benefits and Competitive Advantages

• Exceptional fire resistance properties. Blazeguard’s cementitious coating forms a highly effective shield between fire and the underlying wood panel. Exposed to the heat of fire, it releases water as a vapor to absorb and cool the fire’s heat. Blazeguard does not allow fire to spread across its surface, nor does it contribute to smoke in a fire (achieving a Class A, structural flame spread rating as measured by ASTM E-84, extended to 30 minutes). Its burn-through resistance rating (as measured by ASTM  E-119) is nearly triple that of uncoated panels.

•   Blazeguard’s non-toxic coating poses no risk to humans because it is mineral and not chemical-based. Blazeguard material can be disposed of in landfills.

•   Enhanced strength and high impact resistance. Blazeguard’s coating strengthens the wood panel. In contrast, other fire treatments can weaken the panels they are intended to protect. In the past, structural failure of fire retardant treated (FRT) plywood resulted in homeowners literally falling through their roofs, creating major liability issues for builders and distributors and a replacement market that generated Blazeguard’s initial sales. Blazeguard also has high impact resistance, a valuable attribute in many public building and industrial/commercial applications. 

•   Blazeguard is resistant to mold and mildew. In contrast, gypsum wallboard is susceptible to mold and mildew infestation, which has been proven to contribute to people becoming sick in their own homes.

•   Blazeguard adds value. While exceeding fire resistance standards, Blazeguard offers builders and pre-fabricated assembly manufacturers the ability to mitigate long term liability from the potentially negative effects of chemicals or susceptibility to mold and mildew. From a construction perspective, Blazeguard is a versatile, premium product that avoids “doubling up” of material and installation labor to accommodate gypsum wallboard’s inherent shortcomings in strength. Blazeguard is resistant to the periodic wetting that occurs at a job site. It is easy to handle and install. The product is conducive to manufacturing and shipping. Blazeguard is an optimal material choice to meet key construction needs and emerging trends.

Positioned for Sales Growth and Profitability

Barrier has a sales base in multi-family roof deck applications in the southeastern U.S. Barrier aims to increase revenue by expanding its sales effort and geographic focus for the roof deck market and by targeting promising new applications, as described below.

•   Expand current application sales with new distribution and sales capabilities and target markets. Barrier will duplicate the successful marketing and sales strategy it implemented in Florida, where sales doubled in three years to over 800,000 square feet, to other states with a high level of multi-family dwelling construction. These states include Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and California. Barrier will target builders already using Blazeguard in Florida (including Centex, Lennar, KB Home and D.R. Horton); add regional sales personnel; and continue to build and strengthen its distribution channels.

•   New market launch positions Barrier to double sales volume in 2004. On December 16, 2003, Barrier announced a sales agreement with Mule-Hide Products Co., Inc. Mule-Hide and its affiliate, ABC Supply Co. Inc. (a roofing and siding supplier with sales exceeding $1 billion and over 250 branches), will market, sell, and distribute Blazeguard in the commercial modular building market. These pre-fabricated or manufactured buildings are used as semi-permanent structures at sites such as hospitals and schools. The new Blazeguard-based system passed
stringent fire and wind tests that enabled a UL label and listing for Class C and Class A roof deck assemblies and fulfills important unmet needs. The agreement targets sales volume of two million square feet in 2004, positioning the company to potentially double the 2.11 million square feet of sales achieved in fiscal 2003, and provides strong growth opportunities beyond 2004.

•  New applications and certifications.  

    •   Barrier plans to fire test and “list” a variety of fire rated wall assemblies required by code in both single family and multi-family construction projects. 

    •   Barrier has begun the process to have Blazeguard evaluated against the newly adopted International Building Code (IBC), which will qualify the product to be used throughout the whole U.S. The conclusion of this process will be the issuance of a National Evaluation Services Report that will make product introductions in new U.S. geographies a relatively simple task. 

•   Existing production capacity supports dramatic growth. Barrier owns a 22,000 square foot automated manufacturing facility in Watkins, Minnesota that is served by highways and rail. With annual Blazeguard production capacity of 24 million square feet, the plant can accommodate significant sales growth.

Promising Outlook

Barrier is well positioned with its focus on the growing fire safety segment of the U.S. building materials industry. Its proprietary products have compelling characteristics that serve to protect human life and property, provide value to builders and manufacturers, and address emerging industry trends and health concerns. As an experienced company with both established sales and the potential to dramatically accelerate growth, Barrier is positioned to assume an expansive role in the multi-billion dollar fire safety industry.

Fire!

Fire is one of nature’s most destructive forces. Despite notable fire safety improvements over decades and centuries, news headlines of tragic fires are today still all too common. The National Fire Protection Association reported the following U.S. fire statistics for 2002:

  • Public fire departments responded to 1,687,500 fires, including 519,000 structure fires.

  • Structure fires resulted in 2,670 civilian fire deaths and 15,600 injuries.

  • Residential and commercial direct property damage was $8.7 billion. 

  • Nationwide, a civilian fire injury occurred every 28 minutes and a civilian home fire death every 156 minutes.

Blazeguard’s superior fire resistance characteristics serve to protect human life and property from fire. In the fire test shown above, the shed built without Blazeguard (top) burns readily compared to the shed built with Blazeguard (bottom). 

The Pyrotite Coating

  • Blazeguard’s coating, called Pyrotite, is a non-toxic, non-combustible compound that inhibits flame ignition, flame spread, and burn-through.

  • Pyrotite is cementitious, inorganic, and mineral-based.

  • The coating retains structural integrity through prolonged exposure to flame temperatures of 2000º F.

  • Products using Pyrotite have been researched and successfully applied since 1988.

  • Pyrotite is protected by multiple patents.

  • Barrier has licensed certain rights to use Pyrotite from Pyrotite Corporation.  

Barrier is part of the DJ Building Materials Index (US). 

Click here to view Barrier’s financial statements: www.intlbarrier.com/AnnualReporttoJune%2030,2003.pdf

For more information please visit:
www.intlbarrier.com or www.investorideas.com

Contact
Toll free 1.866.735.3519
Rich Angle
ir@intlbarrier.com 
or
Dawn Van Zant, ECON Investor Relations, Inc.
dvanzant@investorideas.com
 
This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to competitor activities, market acceptance of Barrier products, availability of capital, and other political or economic factors. This document does not represent a solicitation to buy or sell the securities of this company.

Disclaimer: Corporate Profile as prepared and approved by featured company.