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Ingen Technologies Inc. (CRTZ) |
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CEOCFO
Interview Index |
This is a printer friendly page! Ingen Technologies, a public company
and medical device manufacturer, is ready to introduce their patented medical technology:
BAFI™ BIO: Company Profile: With new developments in digital wireless technology,
the Company is engineering an even more compatible product that provides hospitals and
medical facilities with a wireless monitoring system for use of multiple units. This
wireless version will be made available to the end-user or individual caregiver. With
millions of cylinders in the market used every day, Ingen Technologies can deliver the
product to oxygen supply companies worldwide within this year. CEOCFOinterviews: Mr. Sand, will you give us a brief history of the company? Mr. Sand: “Ingen Technologies was formed in 1999 as a closely held private company. Working with the best medical doctors, engineers and scientists in the country, we developed, produced and patented the worlds first wireless device that can detect gas pressure within any gas cylinder, creating a safety device for patients and other applications. Ingen merged with Creative Recycling Technologies, in March (2004). We will be the surviving company; this is a classic reverse merger.” CEOCFOinterviews: What did you acquire in the Creative Recycling merger? Mr. Sand: “We have acquired all of the normal liabilities and shareholders. CRTZ has been dormant for several years. This merger allowed the acquisition of a public company and as a result it has allowed Ingen Technologies the ability to go public with their medical product and add more value to CRTZ. Going public also offers more opportunity to new investors and existing shareholders. This was part of our overall strategy four years ago when we formed the company. Initially, Ingen Technologies invested $3M to build and patent our product.” CEOCFOinterviews: What is your financial position as it relates to the merger and now being a public company? Mr. Sand: “Ingen Technologies has revenue; we have a patented product and any cost associated with taking this company into a merger to go public, has been expected. The cost of going public is not an issue; the product we have goes to market this quarter and the company has cash flow.” CEOCFOinterviews: Tell us about your product and any competition in the marketplace? Mr. Sand: “There is
no competition with this type of product we have developed, which is an oxygen-warning
device that attaches to the regulator of an oxygen tank. There are no existing patents or
products in our way.” CEOCFOinterviews: Do they empty at random? Mr. Sand: “The proper use of a tank, being shut off properly, will prevent it from going empty. If a tank is ignored, or vibrates open, for example in an aircraft, it could release oxygen and it dissipates into the air. Most of the time, you have elderly people that are using these tanks, just reclining, driving in the car or sitting in the office, and not paying attention to the gauge, and usually it is their spouse, or caregiver that is either not paying attention or is too busy, and the tank goes empty.” CEOCFOinterviews: It sounds like you have a potentially large marketplace, from healthcare to airlines. Mr. Sand: “That is right! It is a safety issue.” CEOCFOinterviews: What has the reception been like in the markets that you’ve approached? Mr. Sand: “We have researched almost every possible application. Those applications are identified within the patent itself; the patent number is 6,137,417. We have approached oxygen suppliers across the country and they like the concept; they also look at it as a cost savings with any need to reprime a dry tank. The largest Fire Protection Agency in the U.S. is in San Bernadino County in southern California. The Fire Chief in that district has evaluated our device and asked us when we could deliver this device to the fire fighters. When fire fighters go into a fire, they have a spare oxygen tank for emergencies, if they are empty, there is a safety issue there, so they like the idea of being able to attach our product to their oxygen tanks so that they know all the time that there tanks are full or adequately full; never below the 500 PSA marking that O2 tanks have a limit to. Of course, an important application for this product is with Fire Extinguishers. They are everywhere, in schools, public buildings, military buildings, transportation etc….” CEOCFOinterviews: In the U.S alone, how much of the market have you penetrated? Mr. Sand: “We have initially estimated to penetrate only the medical side of the market. In the U.S., according to the 1999 statistics, two million patients use remote oxygen cylinders. Therefore, if we only approached 10% of those two million, that is two hundred thousand patients that we could sell direct or through a supplier. With a reasonable product cost in the $200 range, this estimates a $40M revenue base for the company. Our market is not only the oxygen supplier, but also the tank manufacturer and the oxygen regulator manufacturers. If we were to take five or ten percent of the market, you are looking at revenues of roughly about forty million a year. That doesn’t include aircraft, military, outdoor camping, construction or any of the other markets we have approached, because our first emphasis would be in the medical market.” CEOCFOinterviews: What is your strategy for sales and marketing? Mr. Sand: “We have a master distributor for the domestic market called C.H. Supply & Distribution in Beverly Hills, California who will go out and market to potential medical and industrial users of our oxygen-warning device. We also have special instrument dealers in the medical community that I have been dealing with for twenty-five years.” CEOCFOinterviews: Will
you be pursuing the international marketplace and if so, what is your strategy, will it be
through another partnership? Mr. Sand: “Yes,
Ingen Technologies is a medical device manufacturer.” CEOCFOinterviews: Are there any other products on the horizon based on your R&D efforts? Mr. Sand: “We are going to go wireless and that allows the caregiver greater freedom. Without a wireless product there are limitations in distance and freedom. We have a new wireless technology that our engineers in Sacramento are working on right now. We plan to put that in the existing patent or submit new patents.” CEOCFOinterviews: Do you see this being monitored by security firms? Mr. Sand: “Most of the time, patients taking oxygen are not` alert anyway and it requires a second person and that person becomes a prisoner to be close to the tank and close to the person; they can’t check the mail or sit out in the backyard, but with the wireless, you can do those things.” CEOCFOinterviews: How far away can you get with the wireless? Mr. Sand: “You can go across country if you want to. We have cooperation with Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) to provide the hardware; it is a pager working off of ‘Blue Tooth’ technology. We would add the transmitter inside the device that goes under the regulator and then the receiver, which is going to be a pager, can go anywhere you want it to. If you have a nurse in the hospital, she can monitor 200 tanks at the same time.” CEOCFOinterviews: When will this be ready? Mr. Sand: “The wireless technology is now under development.” CEOCFOinterviews: What would you like to say to investors considering Ingen Technologies? Mr. Sand: “In my opinion, when you look at investors today, you are down to a very select group of investors compared to five or six years ago. Investors today are seeking medical technology that has promise in the marketplace. Ingen Technologies offers an investment opportunity that is unique. You have a company that has liquidity with a medical device that is patented and in production, with a vast market opportunity.” CEOCFOinterviews: Are you going to keep the same ticker symbol? Mr. Sand: “This is only a formality.” CEOCFOinterviews: In closing, what would you like to say about your experience in bringing public companies to the marketplace? Mr. Sand: “I have
been involved with several public companies over the past 25 years. All of them have been
involved in the manufacturer and sale of medical devices. Most of the medical products
developed over that time have been successful and fruitful for investors.” |
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