NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ForceField Energy Inc. ("ForceField") (Nasdaq:FNRG), an international manufacturer, seller and distributor of energy products and solutions, announced today that it has completed a purchase of assets from Idaho-based Catalyst LED's LLC ("Catalyst"), a provider of customized LED lighting products and solutions, and an authorized vendor for a number leading companies, including General Motors.
Catalyst's broad selection of LED lighting products and customized solutions are designed to help reduce controllable costs and increase sustainability to commercial and retail customers. Furthermore, Catalyst has designed lighting systems across a variety of industries and has worked directly with energy-management companies, electrical supply houses, and electricians throughout North America.
The acquisition expands ForceField's LED product portfolio and strengthens its ability to reach consumers of all sizes throughout North America. Additionally, the transaction adds a direct-to-consumer, web-based platform that will enable ForceField to better leverage the marketing of its existing product lines. ForceField will maintain the Catalyst LED brand name, product lines and website, leveraging Catalyst's established recognition within the LED industry. Catalyst founder and President Cory Turnbull will join ForceField as its Director of LED Sales in the United States.
Stéphane Vachon, Vice President of Operations for ForceField, remarked, "With Cory Turnbull and the Catalyst brand name, we have strengthened our ability to offer significant value to commercial and retail LED customers throughout North America. Cory is a highly respected and talented individual, and we feel very fortunate to welcome him aboard our team. He has realized excellent success at Catalyst, and we look forward to him continuing that momentum with ForceField."
Mr. Vachon added, "We believe that the strategy and value behind this transaction will be very compelling to our shareholders. This was a unique opportunity for us to acquire an asset and customer base at an attractive price; and that strengthened our product offering as well as adding a multi-million dollar bid pipeline that ranges from small to Fortune 500 sized businesses. By combining our distribution networks and access to capital markets with Catalyst's demonstrated capabilities and products, we believe that we can expand our footprint in the North American and international marketplaces."
Mr. Turnbull further emphasized the synergy created by ForceField's strategic acquisition of Catalyst.
"This acquisition was the perfect opportunity to join an emerging company with excellent LED products and solutions, and strong international distribution capabilities. Having a broader product portfolio will enable us to develop unique plans for our customers to reduce their energy consumption, improve sustainability and realize a greater return on investment. I look forward to working with the ForceField team to leverage our collective strengths and take ForceField to the next level," Turnbull stated.
ForceField purchased Catalyst's assets for a combination of cash and its common stock. The specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Catalyst LEDs LLC
Catalyst LEDs specializes in commercial and industrial LED lighting with an emphasis on customized solutions for customers seeking to become more sustainable through lighting upgrades. Catalyst has experience with Fortune 50 companies as well as small and medium size businesses across multiple industries throughout North America including General Motors, Kaiser Aluminum, United States Border Patrol, Big Sandy Superstore, Gorbel Inc., among others. In addition, the company has worked with numerous companies in the U.S. and Canada to help its customers capitalize on current utility based incentives to partially offset certain upfront costs related to switching to LED lighting. To further support its customers, Catalyst maintains a relationship with one of the largest tax firms in U.S. to help its customers explore federal tax incentives and other avenues of income to support their sustainability initiatives. Since its founding, Catalyst has helped its customers receive incentives to cover between 30% and 70% of the total cost of upgrading to LED. Catalyst remains committed to providing the highest quality products at the best possible price while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the customer's property. For more information on Catalyst and their customer base and company profile please go to http://www.catalystleds.com/aboutus.html or to http://www.spokanejournal.com/local-news/coeur-dalene-lighting-distributor-taps-led-niche/
About ForceField Energy Inc.
ForceField Energy is a global company whose products and solutions focus renewable and sustainable energy solutions and improved energy efficiency. ForceField is a global distributor of commercial LED lighting products for a premier manufacturer, Shanghai Lightsky Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. ForceField Energy maintains exclusive distribution rights within the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Europe; as well as a distributor for Catalyst LED products. A light emitting diode (or "LED") is a semiconductor device that converts electricity into light. LED lights are considered green products due to the absence of any dangerous chemicals and their ability to significantly reduce energy consumption by 50% to 85% over traditional lighting products depending upon the application.
Additionally, ForceField is distributor of smart electric meters for PowerOneData International, Inc., an international company that provides Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions and Automated Street Light Management (ASLM) systems. AMI solutions enable low-cost, real-time data capture in an effort to reduce transmission distribution losses, power generation expenses and operating costs.
ForceField is a designer, manufacturer and licensee of modular, heat recovery systems that convert waste heat into clean electricity. The Company's patented technology is based upon the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and uses proprietary, multiple-component fluids that are environmentally sound and applicable at broader temperature ranges than other energy recovery systems. These recovery systems increase both the economic and operating efficiency of a process, while significantly decreasing the amount of thermal and air pollution emitted into the environment.
ForceField is also a manufacturer and distributor of the specialty chemical trichlorosilane (or "TCS"). TCS is utilized in the production of polysilicon, which is an essential raw material for the production of solar fuel cells included in photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight to electricity.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "future," "plan" or "planned," "expects" or "projected." These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein include i) the Company's ability to generate significant revenues and profits from its waste heat technology and LED lighting segments, (ii) the Company's ability to obtain adequate financing to achieve its LED and waste heat technology business plan (iii) the successful installation and efficacy of the Company's LED lighting products, (iv) expanding ForceField's product line, revenues and customer base due to the acquisition of Catalyst assets, (vi) the ability of ForceField to successfully integrate the Catalyst name into its LED operations and (vii) other factors without limitation which are detailed in documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov.