Versarien Share Discussion Threads

[elbillo] 24/9/2019 20:49

Re post 1855.

Just for clarification the original post was posted on 17th July, we are now a good 2 months further on.

[hew] 24/9/2019 20:48

Not able to attend the AGM this year, so huge thanks to Battery, Shavian and Johnveals for the creation and sharing of their reports. Together they make me feel almost as if I was there. Despite the occasional noise and nastiness on here, such generosity shows that the "VRS family spirit" lives on through testing as well as easier times.

[markyboy5] 24/9/2019 20:31

A quick thank you to all the genuine posters
Here’s to 🚀

[bbmsionlypostafter] 24/9/2019 20:21

billwave,

Perhaps I can help.

There are several Rules of Life I have learned & I believe #2 may explain what is puzzling you. Apply it & see if it's a fit.

Rule # 2. People lie.

ATB.

[aquaesulis01] 24/9/2019 19:49

Thanks shavian also for a comprehensive write up

[billwave] 24/9/2019 19:42

Johnveals - Thanks for your response on the subject of the 30T machine. Based on previous news I had assumed wrongly that we had a 30T capacity machine near ready to produce 30 Tons, my error, thanks.

[alchemy] 24/9/2019 19:40

Bigt got bigger. If you don't believe this then fine. However if it's true then great! If it's not true.......think who you are calling out .

[club sandwich] 24/9/2019 19:34

So James Baker is trying to get as much money into GEIC as possible? Maybe Ricketts should take a leaf out of his book...

[billwave] 24/9/2019 19:31

Forestfred - As a starting point we all have an agenda, mine is to protect my investment as best I can, what's yours? I don't need the positives that I've heard many times before clarified, I can only query facts as I thought I knew them. I thought we had a 30T machine somewhere near ready to produce 30T if it was required. If you can clarify this that would be great, if you can't assist my genuine enquiry then probably best that you just let someone that can help reply. Regards.

[johnveals] 24/9/2019 19:27

My take of the 3T vs 30T question is a follows.

The 3T machine is tried, tested, installed and commissioned.

Scale up can come from one of two ways. Lots of 3T machines or from a larger machine under development which may produce in the region of 30T. In the past references have been made to developing a continuous production method as opposed to the current batch method.

Therefore scale up is not a problem.

[rainbow23] 24/9/2019 19:22

"No holdups with bigt, it's ust got bigger" Yeah,right. Some people will swallow anything. What will the excuse be when there's still no bigt next year. Absolutely comical this lot. Never mind, the agm fans have been sent home happy with their bags full of jam which they got today instead of tomorrow.

[forestfred] 24/9/2019 19:20

As a starting point

Let’s all discuss the massive positives from the AGM today , share holders only please , or non share holders with out a agenda .
Ff

[shavian] 24/9/2019 18:56

Here's my version of events as I saw them. Please feel free to add or pick holes:

Versarien AGM Summary
1100 hours 24 September 2019
Gloucester Rugby Stadium

Official Business - 20 minutes
All resolutions duly voted and passed including Special Resolution No 6 which was to create an extra 15% of shares additional to the present total to give the board more negotiating flexibility. Curiously, 7% of the proxy votes opposed this; presumably this was an institutional holder seeking to oppose all possible dilution.

Q&A - 1 hour 40 mins
USA update? Our new man in USA is Brian Berney, a Brit well known to Neill Ricketts (NR) has been in post for 3 months and is quietly developing his contacts and those left him by the previous incumbent Patrick Abbott. Lots of enquiries via membership of National Graphene Association (NGA). November will be a busy month of trade shows. In a later question it was confirmed that the earlier order from an oil drilling company was very much ongoing with extensive testing of a VRS masterbatch. Also, in a reference to NED Iain Gray’s absence in Seattle someone asked was he visiting Boeing. This was met with sealed lips and a cheeky grin!

BIGT? No holdups with the BIGT agreement, the deal has just got significantly bigger than originally imagined with more Chinese agencies involved and therefore could not be concluded pre-AGM as had been originally hoped. There are no worries about the speed. BIGT is not a customer but an enabling agency who will set the tone in China on a National scale, fully backed by the Chinese government. NR said there are other graphene companies in China, but the Chinese have become aware of quality issues with many of them. BIGT is to be the enabling Tier 1 partner, a role similar to GEIC in the UK, with provinces such a Shandong [which includes the possible Jinan factory] are to be Tier 2 partners. NR would not be drawn on a completion date but it seems likely to be soon. Completion of the deal will provide access to much more capital which will make a significant difference to all aspects of company progress. MW added that this is our first overseas expansion and it’s vital to get it right.

Textiles? This is likely to be an early win, because the testing lead time is much less critical than in Automotive and Aerospace. The existing ink-based printing method is simpler but more costly because two processes are required in manufacture. The new infused graphene method just finished testing with Leeds University has been more complex to solve initially but is more promising because it cuts out one whole process and should prove to be cheaper. Customers could produce textiles using graphene from the current 3Ton type of machine set up locally in a container. VRS has the capability to meet current and anticipated orders in textiles. The Innovate UK grant has helped finance proof of scale-up [to 30 tons/year?] and kit will be bought in as orders materialise

AECOM? All seemingly progressing well, as noted in the RNS, with four projects in Middle East and China. Pace of progress in the hands of the HQ of AECOM not VRS where our team is pushing on as hard as it can. AECOM is a consultant not a manufacturer, although they have toyed with the latter role. VRS is the preferred provider for suitable solutions such as the latest development with graphene infused concrete [presumably with 3D printing]. In another question the concrete development was seen as environmentally positive because of the major reduction of CO2 in manufacture. Sustainability will play an increasing role in the future business direction.

Direction of Strategy in Marketing? Last year was all about building up collaborations, this year has been about penetrating international markets (China, USA, Korea, Japan) Next year will be all about promotion [and production]. Marketing group Pinnacle have made a new promotional video which will be on the website; the campaign will be to emphasise the quality of VRS’ graphene The company has just finished a period of scrutiny by HMGov to confirm validity of IP and its unique quality. All now done, so full sales and tech support now available including links to foreign governments. Dr Martin Kemp is away representing VRS at Graphene Week [in Strasbourg - Europe’s leading graphene conference sponsored by the EU’s Graphene Flagship]

Relationship with UoM/GEIC? Lots of politics swirling around Manchester, and the University is a shareholder so cannot be seen to prefer VRS over competitors [which explains a lot of critical comment on the ADVFN thread]. However, NR has a great relationship with James Baker. Lots of approaches from other Unis all over the world.

Snippets:
• Tyres not one of the 5 areas of focus because tyre manufacturers are not incentivised for long tyre life – this may change as competition takes hold. VRS has 3 orders from 2 tyre manufacturers, with test dispersions under way
• Batteries are also not among the 5 areas of focus, because of the long lead time in development. However Gnanomat is going well, more as a research company in supercapacitors [which may be the next big thing with EVs]
• The packaging company collaboration has taken more time than anticipated because the scope is now much bigger, having moved downstream into different divisions of the group
• Team Sky was bought by Ineos following a ‘little local medical difficulty’ - progress now resuming but VRS is already in contact with Ineos in other areas.
• Hexotene being made in Cheltenham using the earlier production kit. Not a prime focus, being developed in the background
• AAC business picked up well following a dull period. Management culture is adapting to the world of graphene and polygrene applications. One senses that this has taken a while to achieve
• MW spoke about Korea and Japan, where he has been several times this year. Our local consultant in S Korea is engaging with several major manufacturers and supply chain companies. Japan is a slower market and graphene is not so well understood. NR shut him up on a point concerning provincial governments in Japan
• New NED Susan Bowen introduced herself saying she had a very clear strategy of keeping the CEO on the right lines and making sure he knows which of his 3 hats he’s wearing at any given moment!
• VRS always on the lookout for expansion possibilities including M&A, looking further up the supply chain. The team is pushing business on every possible front. The company is succeeding by not trying to do the same as everybody else.
• The share price is irrelevant to NR most of the time, highly dependent on newsflow. There is not much of a ‘free float’ of shares so NR is on the hunt for the right strategic investors, who ‘get it’.

[billwave] 24/9/2019 18:43

Battery - Thanks for the informative write up. Someone else has queried the 30T machine response. I wasn't there to hear it for myself, are you able to perhaps clarify? It doesn't sound from your write up that they actually have a 30T machine physically in the test phase but as someone suggested more on a theoretical level? Anyone else that attended able to share their views? I'm sure I'm not the only one to have made the assumption that we have a 30T machine somewhere near ready to output 30T given the time that has elapsed since it was first announced. Thanks in advance.

[club sandwich] 24/9/2019 18:35

"Must admit though I am struggling to reconcile the 30T response with the Preliminary Results statement that read, "Testing of new equipment is underway which, if successful, would expand our production capacity to up to 30 tonnes per annum"An inconsistency? Between what Ricketts and the company say frommonth to month? Surely not.Don't you know we're going NATIONAL in China? That we're going to be HUGE? And yet we close down on the day. It's almost as if the markets don't believe a word Ricketts says any more, as if he's over-promised and under-delivered for so long his credibility is less than zero.Y'all wanna talk about market manipulation? Fine - let's get Mike Brenner on the stand to testify about his cosy little chats with Ricketts on the golf course about s Chinese entity wanting to buy 29.9% of the company - clearly price-sensitive info. 59p for a plastic unicorn in my local market. And unless this company delivers something with large pound signs attached soon that's where the share price will be. But they seemIncapable of delivering, don't they? The only thing they're all good at is shooting their mouths off...

[1teepee] 24/9/2019 18:23

Wait and see loggy.

[aquaesulis01] 24/9/2019 18:23

Battery, first of all thankyou very much for taking the time and trouble to write up AGM Q&As. Must admit though I am struggling to reconcile the 30T response with the Preliminary Results statement that read, "Testing of new equipment is underway which, if successful, would expand our production capacity to up to 30 tonnes per annum of high quality graphene"; it would appear to be more theoretical testing rather than actual testing of physical equipment is underway currently unless I have misunderstood the response?

[1teepee] 24/9/2019 18:22

With incubation hubs even!

[1teepee] 24/9/2019 18:21

So versarien are helping to reduce the energy costs of incubating the 26billon chickens we eat every year with their nanene incubator technology

[markyboy5] 24/9/2019 18:16

aecom

Ok the arch is 99.9% sorted.
Now the mention of concrete.
aecom have been working with VRS products for some time now.
There heads must be full of applications.
I am sure lots more testing is going on as we speak.
Loads more to come from aecom
🚀