Innovative Rotherham company, Xeros, is accelerating its entry into the personal protection equipment cleaning market with the acquisition of a specialist US cleaning business.
Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), Xeros is a Leeds University spin-out that has developed a patented system using a unique method of special polymer beads rather than the usual large amounts of fresh water to clean clothes.
The AIM-listed firm has targeted the personal protection equipment (PPE) market where an increasingly stringent US regulatory environment is leading to a significant rise in the outsourcing of the cleaning and inspection of fire-fighting and other uniforms to specialist independent providers.
One such provider is Las Vegas-based MarKen, which Xeros will acquire for an initial cash consideration of $750,000 with a further contingent cash consideration of up to $250,000, subject to certain growth targets. The initial consideration has been funded from the Group's existing cash resources. Xeros raised a further £40m in a share issue at the end of 2015.
Advertisement
The acquisition follows the launch of Xeros' US regulator-approved cleaning solution for the firefighting PPE market in February 2017. The Xeros solution is highly effective at removing harmful contaminants whilst also extending the life of expensive PPE garments. The cost of firefighter PPE is approximately $2,000 and MarKen's mantra focuses on restoration rather than replacement.
By adopting Xeros's polymer cleaning system, MarKen nows has faster turnaround times as garments can be cleaned without a lengthy presoak. Xeros also uses 80% less water, 50% less energy and 50% less detergent. Because Xeros uses less water, the gear was dryer at the end of each wash cycle, which reduce drying time by six hours.
MarKen is a leading independent service provider that exclusively uses Xeros' cleaning solution, serving some 25 municipal and military fire departments across the US. Xeros said that the deal provides it "with rapid, low cost access to the large and highly specialised high-performance workwear cleaning market."
Mark Nichols, chief executive of Xeros, said: "This acquisition provides Xeros with a platform from which to accelerate significantly our penetration of the high-performance workwear market. With more than 58,000 fire stations across the USA alone, this is a substantial market where the benefits of our unique cleaning and decontamination solutions can create significant value.
"The profound expertise we are acquiring and the increased market access we now have will enable us to grow this business very rapidly."
0 comments:
Post a Comment