Victoria, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 6, 2024) - ALUULA Composites Inc. (TSXV: AUUA) ("ALUULA" or the "Company") today announces a corporate update, sharing key activities completed in the past six months and outlining its strategic refocus moving forward.
Past 6 Month Highlights
During fiscal year 2023 ("FY2023") ended October 31, 2023, the Company began working with brand partners across several vertical markets including Outdoor, Sailing, and Aerospace. This was due to increased customer demand for the Company's high-performing and recyclable materials.
On October 31, 2023, ALUULA announced a partnership with Arc'teryx to develop new and more circular ultralight outdoor gear.
During Q4 2023, ALUULA finalized the specifications for its ALUULA Durlyte ("Durlyte"), and ALUULA Graflyte ("Graflyte") materials, developed specifically for the demands of its new vertical markets.
ALUULA built a strong foundation during FY2023, solidifying its core business and uniquely positioning itself to engage with a wider array of brand partners in its new vertical markets.
In November 2023, the Company attended the ISPO tradeshow in Munich ("ISPO"), showcasing Durlyte and Graflyte, along with new brand partnerships, with highlights as follows:
Arc'teryx previewed a concept backpack made with ALUULA, featuring innovative welded seam construction and recyclable materials.
Durston Gear launched its first backpack with ALUULA materials, reducing overall product weight by 50%.
Rockgeist announced a collaboration with ALUULA to enhance bike pack performance, leveraging its lightweight, waterproof, and abrasion-resistant properties.
During Q1 2024, ALUULA began to capitalize on momentum built during FY2023. The Company commercialized products with brand partners in the wind sport and outdoor vertical markets and reported its highest quarterly sales and material production since inception.
In February 2024, ALUULA strengthened its management team with the appointment of Sage Berryman as President. In March 2024, Berryman assumed the role of CEO, in addition to her current duties as President, to lead the Company towards realizing its promising growth opportunities.
In March 2024, ALUULA announced a research and development collaboration with Michelin Inflatable Solutions, a Michelin company, to maximize the construction potential of more environmentally sustainable composite materials.
As of May 3rd, 2024, ALUULA has now sold material to sixteen wind sports brands. Nine of these brands are currently in the market with ALUULA materials, while the balance are anticipated to launch products with ALUULA materials shortly.
Within a six-month period and as of May 3rd, 2024, the Company has sold material to twelve bag and pack brands. Six of these brands have already been commercialized or are expected to go to market with new products within the next three months, and all twelve brands are expected to commercialize products by early 2025.
"These past six months have been transformative for ALUULA. Our decision to expand into new verticals has opened doors to new uses and opportunities for our materials," said Sage Berryman, CEO and President of ALUULA. "Collaborations with leaders like Arc'teryx and Michelin, alongside the introduction of our new materials, have significantly heightened interest among potential customers, driving new products and demand. We currently have a multitude of brands on our roster, with plans to add more in the future."
"Yet, our entry into these new verticals isn't just about growth, it's about setting new standards and pushing the boundaries of what's possible when an innovative material meets product design expertise. With the rise in demand for our core business, we've strategically chosen to concentrate our efforts solely on this, ensuring we fully maximize these opportunities. After diligently laying the groundwork over the past six months, we're now poised to embark on this next phase with full force," said Berryman.
Strategic Refocus
ALUULA launched its business in July 2019 with one product, ALUULA Gold, and one customer, Ocean Rodeo Sports Inc. ("Ocean Rodeo"). Originally, the Company's strategy was to disrupt the wind sport market with a high-quality product using patented and proprietary materials that were lighter and stronger than competitor textiles.
ALUULA was successful in executing this strategy. This was due to its collaboration with innovation partner and subsidiary, Ocean Rodeo. Ocean Rodeo field tested ALUULA's materials and experimented with new manufacturing techniques, using these innovations in the production of kites and wings. This resulted in consistent success in competitions worldwide and established new performance standards for products in the wind sport industry. The results positioned ALUULA Gold as a highly sought-after material to produce high-performance kites and wings with.
ALUULA has undergone significant evolution since the summer of 2019. The Company has broadened its product range from one to approximately fifty. Additionally, the Company expanded the number of commercialized wind sport brands featuring ALUULA materials from one to sixteen, with current and ongoing growth.
During this evolution, ALUULA identified that its materials' unique properties benefit products in markets beyond wind sports, creating an opportunity to expand its strategy to the broader performance outdoor market.
To successfully execute this updated strategy and eliminate a perceived conflict of interest with its growing list of wind sport brands, ALUULA will discontinue Ocean Rodeo's operations and is actively exploring strategic alternatives with respect to Ocean Rodeo's assets including the Company's intellectual property portfolio, innovative wind sport product designs and marketing assets including the corporate brand.
"With our new strategic focus, we have decided to allocate all resources exclusively towards ALUULA's core business. By restructuring and refocusing, we aim to capitalize on the abundant opportunities that lie ahead, with the objective of driving sustained success for ALUULA," said Berryman.
Management Update
Due to the Company's streamlined strategic focus, Richard Myerscough stepped down as ALUULA's Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), effective April 30, 2024. Mr. Myerscough remains a valued member of the board of directors and will continue to contribute his product innovation expertise through this capacity moving forward.
"We extend our gratitude to Richard for his contributions to ALUULA as its Founder CEO, and CIO. He has played a pivotal role in our success and foundation, as his material science innovations have helped generate the interest we're now seeing across many industries. We look forward to his ongoing input as a director on our board," said Berryman.
The Company also announces that as of June 30th, 2024, ALUULA's COO, John Zimmerman, will transition out of the business. Mr. Zimmerman oversaw the expansion of ALUULA's wind sports business from one customer to collaborations with most of the brands in the industry.
"John played a crucial role in ALUULA's corporate growth, from securing financing to expanding our company and diversifying our revenue streams. He established the foundation of our wind sports offering, which serves as the cornerstone of ALUULA's business. Over the next few months, we will work together on a transition plan aimed at enabling ALUULA's next-generation sales team to capitalize on the foundation John has laid down, thereby maximizing its potential value," said Berryman.
不列顛哥倫比亞省維多利亞州--（Newsfile Corp.，2024年5月6日）——ALUULA Composites Inc.（多倫多證券交易所股票代碼：AUUA）（“ALULA” 或 “公司”）今天宣佈了公司最新情況，分享了過去六個月中完成的關鍵活動，並概述了其未來的戰略重點。
過去 6 個月的亮點
在截至2023年10月31日的2023財年（“2023財年”）中，公司開始與包括戶外、帆船和航空航天在內的多個垂直市場的品牌合作伙伴合作。這是由於客戶對公司高性能和可回收材料的需求增加。
2023年10月31日，ALUULA宣佈與Arc'teryx合作，開發新的、更圓形的超輕戶外裝備。
在2023年第四季度，ALUULA最終確定了專門爲其新的垂直市場的需求而開發的ALUULA Durlyte（“Durlyte”）和ALUULA Graflyte（“Graflyte”）材料的規格。
ALUULA 在 FY2023 期間奠定了堅實的基礎，鞏固了其核心業務，並在新的垂直市場中與更廣泛的品牌合作伙伴建立了獨特的地位。
2023年11月，公司參加了在慕尼黑舉行的ISPO貿易展（“ISPO”），展示了Durlyte和Graflyte以及新的品牌合作伙伴關係，亮點如下：
Arc'teryx 預覽了一款由 ALUULA 製成的概念揹包，該揹包採用創新的焊縫結構和可回收材料。
Durston Gear推出了首款採用ALUULA材料的揹包，將產品總重量減少了50％。
Rockgeist宣佈與ALUULA合作，利用其輕便、防水和耐磨的特性來增強自行車揹包的性能。
在 2024 年第一季度，ALUULA 開始利用 FY2023 期間建立的勢頭。該公司與風能運動和戶外垂直市場的品牌合作伙伴一起將產品商業化，並報告了自成立以來最高的季度銷售額和材料產量。
2024 年 2 月，ALUULA 任命了 Sage Berryman 爲總裁，從而加強了其管理團隊。2024年3月，除了目前的總裁職務外，Berryman還擔任首席執行官一職，領導公司實現其充滿希望的增長機會。
2024年3月，ALUULA宣佈與米其林旗下的米其林充氣解決方案公司進行研發合作，以最大限度地發揮更具環境可持續性的複合材料的施工潛力。
截至2024年5月3日，ALUULA現已向16個風能運動品牌出售材料。其中九個品牌目前使用ALUULA材料投放市場，其餘品牌預計不久將推出採用ALUULA材料的產品。
在六個月的時間內，截至2024年5月3日，該公司已向十二個箱包和包裝品牌出售了材料。其中六個品牌已經商業化或預計將在未來三個月內推出新產品，預計所有十二個品牌都將在2025年初之前將產品商業化。
“過去的六個月對ALUULA來說是變革性的。我們決定向新的垂直領域擴張，爲我們的材料開闢了新的用途和機會。” ALUULA首席執行官兼總裁Sage Berryman說。“與Arc'teryx和米其林等領導者的合作，以及我們的新材料的推出，極大地提高了潛在客戶的興趣，推動了新產品和需求。目前，我們的名單上有許多品牌，並計劃在未來增加更多品牌。”
“但是，我們進入這些新的垂直領域不僅僅是增長，而是要設定新的標準，突破創新材料與產品設計專業知識相結合時可能實現的界限。隨着對核心業務需求的增加，我們在戰略上選擇將精力完全集中在這一方面，確保充分利用這些機會。在過去的六個月中努力奠定基礎之後，我們現在準備全力以赴地開始下一階段，” 貝里曼說。
重新調整戰略重點
ALUULA於2019年7月啓動了業務，旗下有一款產品ALUULA Gold，還有一個客戶——Ocean Rodeo Sports Inc.（“Ocean Rodeo”）。最初，該公司的戰略是通過使用比競爭對手紡織品更輕、更堅固的專利和專有材料的高質量產品來顛覆風能運動市場。
ALUULA 成功地執行了這一策略。這要歸功於它與創新合作伙伴和子公司Ocean Rodeo的合作。Ocean Rodeo 對ALUULA的材料進行了實地測試，並嘗試了新的製造技術，將這些創新應用於風箏和翅膀的生產。這在全球比賽中取得了持續的成功，併爲風能運動行業的產品建立了新的性能標準。結果使ALUULA Gold成爲生產高性能風箏和翅膀的備受追捧的材料。
自2019年夏天以來，ALUULA經歷了重大演變。該公司已將其產品範圍從一個擴大到大約五十個。此外，公司將採用ALUULA材料的商業化風能運動品牌的數量從一個擴大到十六個，目前和持續增長。
在這次演變中，ALUULA發現其材料的獨特特性有利於風力運動以外市場的產品，這爲將其戰略擴展到更廣泛的高性能戶外市場創造了機會。
爲了成功執行這一更新後的戰略並消除與其不斷增長的風能運動品牌的利益衝突，ALUULA將停止Ocean Rodeo的業務，並正在積極探索Ocean Rodeo資產的戰略替代方案，包括公司的知識產權組合、創新的風能運動產品設計和包括公司品牌在內的營銷資產。
“有了新的戰略重點，我們決定將所有資源專門分配給ALUULA的核心業務。通過重組和重新調整重點，我們的目標是利用未來的豐富機遇，目標是推動ALUULA持續取得成功，” 貝里曼說。
管理層更新
由於公司精簡了戰略重點，理查德·邁爾斯考夫辭去了ALUULA首席創新官（CIO）的職務，自2024年4月30日起生效。Myerscough 先生仍然是董事會的重要成員，今後將繼續通過這一職位貢獻其產品創新專長。
“我們感謝理查德作爲創始人、首席執行官和首席信息官爲ALUULA做出的貢獻。他在我們的成功和基礎中發揮了關鍵作用，因爲他的材料科學創新激發了我們現在在許多行業中看到的興趣。作爲董事會董事，我們期待他繼續發表意見，” 貝里曼說。
該公司還宣佈，自2024年6月30日起，ALUULA的首席運營官約翰·齊默爾曼將退出該業務。齊默爾曼先生監督了ALUULA的風能運動業務從一個客戶擴展到與業內大多數品牌的合作。
“約翰在ALUULA的企業增長中發揮了至關重要的作用，從確保融資到擴大我們的公司規模和實現收入來源的多元化。他爲我們的風能運動產品奠定了基礎，這是 ALUULA 業務的基石。在接下來的幾個月中，我們將共同制定一項過渡計劃，旨在使ALUULA的下一代銷售團隊能夠利用約翰打下的基礎，從而最大限度地發揮其潛在價值，” 貝里曼說。
