GreenMan Technologies Signs Agreement with U.S. Century

The patented "hail proof" product developed by U.S. Century produces shingles stamped from the tread of scrap passenger and light truck tires that are coated and granulated to have a "slate look." FlexShakeÔ shingles provide the resilience of a tire with more insulation value than traditional asphalt roofing products. U.S. Century has targeted FlexShakeÔ for heavy weather areas of the United States where hail damage to roofs is estimated to cost the insurance industry over $1.6 billion per year. The first production line is being installed in GreenMan's newly acquired California operation.

"Our agreement with U.S. Century to be their sole producer of FlexShakeÔ shingles underscores our ‘slaugherhouse’ business plan in which our goal is to recycle over 90 percent of each tire and therefore realize value from almost all components of a tire," Bob Davis, GreenMan's president and chief executive officer said in a statement. “In the case of FlexShakeÔ, we will not only produce shingles, but value added playground material and alternative fuel chips from the remainder of the tire."

Mr. Davis added, "Our agreement with U.S. Century establishes the first of what we anticipate to be multiple shingle production lines located throughout the country at other GreenMan locations in order to meet the projected demand for FlexShakeÔ. We anticipate each FlexShakeÔ shingle production line to generate about $1 million per year in revenue."

David Nowacek, managing partner for U.S. Century, said, "We have been developing and perfecting our patented FlexShakeÔ shingle product for several years. We have no desire to enter into the scrap tire business, and our research of the industry identified GreenMan as the premier choice." Mr. Nowacek added, "We believe that by aligning ourselves with the nationally recognized leader in the scrap tire recycling industry we position ourselves to better meet the national demand being created for our products.”