-- New facility to manufacture clean technology unheading units used in
the delayed coking process for refining oil
-- Production expected to commence by third quarter calendar year 2011,
with expected revenue contribution of approximately $10 million for
fiscal year ending March 31, 2012
-- New unheading units address environmental, safety and productivity
needs of market projected to be $1 billion over next 10 years
-- 16.5 acre parcel located in special economic development zone
BEIJING, June 24 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- LianDi Clean Technology Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: LNDT), ("LianDi" or the "Company"), a leading provider of clean technology, downstream flow equipment, engineering services and software to China's leading petroleum and petrochemical companies, today announced that it intends to purchase a 16.5-acre land parcel in the Tianjin Port Industry Area for approximately $5.9 million. The Company intends to use the land to construct a new manufacturing facility for its state-of-the-art, totally enclosed delayed coking unheading units. The acquisition is expected to close within the next 60 days.
Upon the closing of the land acquisition, a three-month site preparation project will begin as will LianDi's design of its manufacturing facility. The completion of the new facility will be accomplished in two major phases: Phase I includes the installation of major utility infrastructure, which includes water, gas and electricity supply and Phase II includes the construction of the manufacturing facility. Phase I is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Production is expected to begin by the third quarter calendar year 2011, with 5 initial shipments of unheading units planned for the first full year of production, which is expected to contribute at least $10 million in revenues for the Company's fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.
"Acquisition of this land strategically located in China's Tianjin Port Industry Area, a special economic development zone to foster growth in northern China, is a significant step forward in our development of a new manufacturing facility to produce our state-of-the-art, totally enclosed delayed coking unheading units for the growing oil refining industry," stated Mr. Jianzhong Zuo, chairman, chief executive officer and president of the Company. "With the importation of oil growing rapidly in China, so is the need for cost-effective, safe and economically advantageous technologies for the oil refining industry. As China diversifies its crude oil import sources and expands oil production domestically, refiners will require optimal solutions for refining inferior domestic and imported crude oil. We look forward to participating in this opportunity by delivering to our valued customers, including Sinochem Quanzhou and others, innovative solutions such as our unheading units for the delayed coking process, the first of their kind in China."
LianDi is engaged in modernizing delayed coking in China's oil refining industry and plans to install clean and safe enclosed unheading units in China in the first quarter of 2011. Delayed coking is a thermal process that breaks heavy crude oil into lighter, more valuable fluids which are captured, while a solid coal-like byproduct called "coke" remains in the drum. Unheading units are used in delayed coking to "unhead" or open the coke drum for the removal of the residual coke. Due to the extreme temperatures required in the process, unheading can be one of the most hazardous refinery operations. Despite the related hazards, delayed coking is the preferred solution for refining inferior domestic and imported crude oil.
LianDi, in conjunction with DeltaValve, has developed an affordable, environmentally friendly, safe and maintenance free enclosed coke-drum unheading system for the Chinese marketplace. LianDi's clean-technology solution is fully automated and provides significant advantages over other available unheading equipment because it eliminates exposure to workers and the environment. Installation of LianDi's enclosed unheading units can also generate significant economic benefits to oil refiners, both in terms of cost savings through higher operating efficiencies as well as tax incentives for energy saving, environmentally friendly technologies.
The projected market for coking units is expected to grow to $1.0 billion over the next ten years driven in large part by China's growing consumption of oil and by supportive governmental policies. China's net oil imports reached 4.1M bbl/d in 2009, making it the second largest net oil importer in the world. As of December 2009, crude oil refining capacity in China reached 477 million tons. China's National Energy Administration's (NEA) goal is to raise refining capacity by 50 percent in the next 5 years and expected to reach 750 million tons, or 15 million barrels per day, by 2015.
Tianjin Port Industry Area is one of nine major function areas of Binhai New Area, a major special economic development zone within the jurisdiction of Tianjin municipality in China. It has primary responsibility to build Binhai New Area into an international shipping center as well as an important logistics hub of northern China. Binhai New Area, which covers an area of more than 770 square miles and has a population of two million people, is an important and growing base of petroleum exploration and processing. Tianjin Port, one of the world's top 10 deepwater ports, is an important sea hub for middle and western China. Binhai New Area is also well served by a well-established network of railways, highways and air transportation.
About LianDi Clean Technology Inc.
LianDi was established in July 2004 to serve the largest Chinese petroleum and petrochemical companies. Through its four operating subsidiaries, Hua Shen Trading (International) Ltd., Petrochemical Engineering Ltd., Bright Flow Control Ltd. and Beijing JianXin Petrochemical Engineering Ltd., the Company distributes a wide range of customized valves and equipment and provides associated value-added technical and integration service. The Company also develops and markets proprietary optimization software for the polymerization process. In addition, LianDi is focused on the large, rapidly growing, clean technology market for oil refineries, projected to reach over $1 billion in the next 10 years. This market is expected to benefit from favorable Chinese government policies, including tax benefits and other incentives.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of LianDi and its subsidiary companies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements" including statements regarding: the general ability of the Company to achieve its commercial objectives, including the ability of the Company to sustain growth; the business strategy, plans and objectives of the Company and its subsidiaries; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website ( http://www.sec.gov )