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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.
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