Press Release
Source: Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc.
AERT's 2010 Letter to Shareholders
Jan. 11, 2010 (GlobeNewswire) --
SPRINGDALE, Ark., Jan.
11, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AERT, Inc. (OTCBB:AERT):
Dear Shareholders,
On behalf of AERT and
its Board of Directors, management team, and associates, I am writing to share with
you information regarding various matters of interest and to communicate the many
exciting opportunities I believe are in store for AERT in 2010. 2009 was a very
challenging year for your company and difficult decisions had to be made. However,
through the year AERT continued to focus on the future and made the tough decisions
we believe were in the best interest of our shareholders. In 2009, operations and
manufacturing continued to improve over prior periods, positive cash flow from operations
was regained, the class action deck cleaning settlement was brought to closure,
and in the second quarter, profitability was reattained. AERT President, Tim Morrison,
and CFO, Brian Hanna, along with AERT's management team and associates, have done
an extraordinary job moving the business forward in this extremely tenuous economic
environment.
Building the Business
In 2010, new handrail
products are planned for ChoiceDek, a new LifeCycle EcoShield deck tile product
made from recycled plastics from the country's largest retailer will be introduced
in select markets throughout the U.S., and recently a new reversible MoistureShield
deck board was launched. In addition, new innovative MoistureShield trim and fascia
products are planned for this year. 2010 is also expected to bring national distribution
of MoistureShield products through a nationwide network of independent distributors.
More information on these and other exciting new products and developments will
be forthcoming as they unfold this spring. AERT will once again be exhibiting at
the International Builders Show (IBS) on January 18th - 21st in Las Vegas, Nevada
at booth N1831. Your sales associates will be showcasing new products as well as
AERT's Green message, "The Truth About Green."
Advanced Resource Recovery
Project (Watts, OK)
AERT's new plastic
recycling plant is scheduled to start up in February. This plant is designed to
further improve AERT plastic recycling efficiencies and reduce costs. But most importantly,
it will help to insulate and hedge AERT against rising petrochemical costs by utilizing
lower end mixed polyethylene plastics in combination with AERT plastic reformulation
technologies. For example, one large source of waste is a mixed plastic and paper
waste by-product of paper recycling operations. This by-product has been recycled
in large quantities by AERT for several years, which has included separating a portion
of the LDPE plastic for use and landfilling the unusable material at a considerable
expense. The Watts facility will recover all of the plastic, increasing our yield
while also cleaning the paper to make it available for resale to other manufacturers.
Watts is also designed to recycle other low end waste plastics to help keep raw
material costs down, and will allow for additional revenue streams of recycled plastics
(Green) compounds in the future. This new facility exemplifies AERT's core raw material
recycling strategy and should allow AERT to maintain margins while continuing our
Green mission. As the economy strengthens and petrochemical prices rise, this will
be a strong, positive differentiator for AERT.
AERT's Common Stock
Listing
AERT recently transitioned
its common stock listing from the Nasdaq Capital Market to the OTC Bulletin Board,
which is also operated by Nasdaq. The OTC Bulletin Board currently lists 3,319 securities
and, for many companies, has replaced the former Nasdaq small cap market on which
AERT was traded for most of its history. Due to the large amount of extraordinary
non-cash charges and write-downs over the last two years, AERT was placed in a very
challenging situation in 2009. AERT worked closely with the Nasdaq stock market
and its Listing Qualifications Panel in '09 and presented a plan to regain compliance
by the end of last year. The Panel supported AERT and accepted its plan to regain
profitability in 2009; however, due to a larger than expected influx of class action
claims in the final weeks of the claim period and the resulting additional accruals,
the plan proved not to be attainable by the end of the year. AERT management believes
it was in the best interest of our shareholders to transfer to a different stock
exchange rather than severely dilute existing shareholder equity or execute a reverse
stock split under current market conditions in order to maintain the national Nasdaq
listing. With the company growing stronger and gaining momentum, and with the new
products and facilities coming online, we thought it best to regain AERT's growth,
maintain profitability, and recapitalize at a time more favorable for AERT shareholders.
This was not a decision that was made lightly, but again we believe it was in the
best interest of all shareholders. To follow AERT common stock and its trading,
please visit www.otcbb.com
and enter "AERT" in the symbol lookup field - at Yahoo!Finance use "AERT.OB".
Thinking Outside the
Box
As we move forward
with AERT's streamlined overhead structure, the company continues to maintain a
good working relationship with its customers, bankers, creditors, and vendors. We
continue to evolve and restructure as AERT works to refinance. Additional information
will be reported as it is finalized. AERT's partners continue to work together to
assist the company during this difficult period and to grow AERT's business for
the benefit of everyone involved. In closing, there is an old adage that says, "Tough
times never last, but tough people and tough companies do." With this letter, all
of us at AERT wish to thank you for your investment and your support. We are excited
and looking forward to what 2010 has in store. At AERT, we believe in America and
the resilience of Americans and the American economy. Your company is now positively
positioned to become a national example of the true power of "Green." It is our
continued commitment to do all we can to generate strong cash flows and solid net
income, to honor our agreements, and to build value for you, our loyal shareholders.
Very truly yours,
Joe G. Brooks
Chairman & CEO
Press Release
Source: Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc.
AERT Transitions Trading of its Common Stock to OTC Bulletin Board
SPRINGDALE, Ark., Dec. 28, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Environmental Recycling
Technologies, Inc., a leading plastic recycler and manufacturer of Green building products, announced
today that the company has notified the Nasdaq Stock Market of its intent to voluntarily
delist its shares and transfer trading of its Class A Common Stock from the Nasdaq
Capital Markets to the OTC Bulletin Board. AERT's shares have been trading on the
Nasdaq Capital Markets under an extension granted by the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications
Panel since September, 2009. The company is currently out of compliance with the
minimum bid price of $1 per share and the minimum stockholders equity of $2.5 million.
"Transferring AERT's trading to the OTC market is the best and most cost effective
option for AERT shareholders in this difficult economic environment. It is time
to bring closure and stability to this issue while maintaining liquidity and focusing
on improving and growing the company in 2010," stated AERT CEO, Joe Brooks. "This
transition will allow AERT shares to continue trading and we look forward to AERT's
continued growth on the OTC market."
AERT has requested the transfer take place on December 29, 2009. Nasdaq makes available
to investors a list of all non-compliant companies, which is posted at http://www.nasdaq.com/services/DelDefOpenReport.pdf
As of December 22, 2009, there were 188 public companies, including AERT, listed
as out of compliance.
About Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc.
Since 1989, AERT (NasdaqCM:AERT.ob) has pioneered the use
of recycled polyethylene plastic in the manufacture of composite building materials.
With its constantly evolving portfolio of patented and proprietary recycling technologies,
AERT has been widely recognized as a leader in resource conservation innovation
and received the EPA Award for Environmental Excellence for its process of converting
scrap plastic to composite outdoor decking. AERT converts reclaimed plastic and
wood fiber waste into quality outdoor decking systems, fence systems, and door and
window components. The Company is the exclusive manufacturer of Weyerhaeuser ChoiceDek(r)
decking, which is available in multiple colors and is sold in all Lowe's Home Improvement
stores. See ChoiceDek.com for more information. AERT's MoistureShield(r)
decking program is expanding and products are available in many parts of the U.S.
now, with national distribution planned for 2009. See MoistureShield.com
for product information or to find a regional distributor or dealer. AERT operates
manufacturing facilities in Springdale and Lowell, with a raw materials facility
in Junction, Texas and a state-of-the-art recycling facility under construction
in Watts, Oklahoma. For more information on the Company, visit AERT.com
Certain statements in this news release regarding projected results of operations,
or, projected results of financial plans or future strategies and initiatives, including,
but not limited to, projections of revenue, projections of profitability, any and
all future expectation, and plans for future activities may and should be regarded
as ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Securities Litigation
Reform Act. These statements involve, among other things, known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause AERT, Inc.'s actual results, levels
of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. AERT currently is considering, but may or may not
in the future implement any or all of the items and issues listed in any planned
budget or strategic initiative, due to, among other things, known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors.
AERT, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, change in strategy,
or otherwise. The above-mentioned listing of risks and uncertainties is not inclusive.
For a more detailed discussion of some, but not all, of the risks and uncertainties
that may affect AERT, Inc., see AERT, Inc.'s filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2008 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September
30, 2009.
The AERT 2008 Annual Report and Proxy Statement are now available via the links below.
