Quebec City, April 26, 2018 - (TSXV: HEO) - H2O Innovation Inc. ("H2O Innovation" or the "Corporation") wishes to make an update on the activities of its maple equipment business line ("H2O Maple"), which is experiencing a massive growth in sales. Over the last twelve months, its sales increased by 20%, driven by the addition of innovative products and the expansion of its North American distribution network.
H2O Maple has developed and marketed more than 40 new products over the last year, thanks to the research and development team, who is working hard to innovate continuously. Two (2) "turnkey" projects were also carried out by H2O Maple, one in Quebec and a second in Vermont. The Vermont project is a large-scale project that will exploit, to its full potential, a maple sugar bush of 200,000 taps. This sugar bush will use the High BrixTM patented maple sap concentration technology, exclusive to H2O Innovation.
The maple equipment business line now has a network of more than 50 distributors in North America as well as three (3) sales and distribution branches (Ham-Nord, Swanton, and most recently Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!). Additional locations are expected to open in Quebec and the United States by December 2018. "While the average Canadian & American growth of maple syrup production is 3% and 1.5%, respectively, we experienced significantly higher growth with a 20% increase in our sales. This performance is not only attributable to market growth, but more importantly to increase of our market shares, driven by our innovations and the extent of our distribution network", said Rock Gaulin, Vice President and General Manager - Manufacturing and Maple at H2O Innovation.
The exceptional growth of H2O Maple over the last year is also attributable to the quotas increase in the province of Quebec. In 2017, to encourage new producers, the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (FPAQ) decided to allocate 40,000 taps to emerging entrepreneurs and 1,339,200 taps to start-ups. The remaining 3,620,800 taps were allocated to producers already holding quota and wishing to expand their operations. Quebec now has 48 million taps, an increase of 12% in one year.
Finally, the new Californian standard that requires limiting to 11 micrograms (mcg) the amount of lead contained in a kilo of maple syrup is also responsible for the growth of the maple equipment business line. Quebec sugar bushes with more than 20,000 taps must renew their equipment by the end of 2018, if they wish to continue exporting their products.
About H2O Maple
H2O Maple offers a complete line of equipment dedicated to maple syrup production, including intelligent products that maximize production, for all sizes of installations. For more information, visit www.h2oinnovation.net.
About H2O Innovation
H2O Innovation designs and provides state-of-the-art, custom-built and integrated water treatment solutions based on membrane filtration technology for municipal, industrial, energy and natural resources end-users. The Corporation's activities rely on three pillars which are i) water and wastewater projects; ii) specialty products and services, including a complete line of specialty chemicals, consumables, specialized products for the water treatment industry as well as control and monitoring systems; and iii) operation and maintenance services for water and wastewater treatment systems. For more information, visit www.h2oinnovation.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the Alternext Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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Source:
H2O Innovation Inc.
www.h2oinnovation.com
Contact:
Marc Blanchet
+1 418-688-0170
marc.blanchet@h2oinnovation.com
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