Thursday, September 30, 2004
Hunter Paine Enterprises (HPE) has announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JMFE) designed to develop and bring to market HPE's first commercial product, Lexite™, a structural wood replacement composite. The financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.
The HPE management team has secured the patent portfolio, manufacturing processes and industry know-how to successfully market Lexite™ boards for high performance pallets. Lexite™ pallets are stronger and lighter weight than traditional wood pallets and are also phytosanitary and environmentally sustainable. These advantages offer unique benefits to companies transporting high volume, heavy, food grade, awkward or bulky products either domestically or internationally. Lexite™ is also ideally suited for embedded RFID tracking, which improves inventory management for retailers and manufacturers, lowering carrying costs and reducing out of stocks. Lexite™ RFID capability expands the opportunity for manufacturers to benefit from RFID technology. "This new partnership provides the funding and momentum HPE needs to bring Lexite™ to the marketplace this year. We are excited to be entering our next phase of development and growth," said HPE Founder and President, Arthur J. Roth.
"There are potentially many applications for this new, environmentally friendly product," said Corky Nelson, executive vice president and CFO, JM Family Enterprises. "We are very excited about the potential growth opportunities at Hunter Paine and are proud to be part of their team. As an enhancement of our investment, JM Family will be providing shared services support activities for this new venture."
About JM Family Enterprises
JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JMFE) (www.jmfamily.com) is a $7.7 billion diversified automotive company ranked by Forbes as the 15th largest privately held company in the U.S. JMFE is currently ranked No. 19 by a survey in FortuneŽ magazine of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and No. 7 on the InformationWeek 500 listing of the nation's leading technology innovators. The company's primary subsidiaries include: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC, the nation's largest franchised distributor of Toyota vehicles; World Omni Financial Corp., an automotive financial products and services business that has been given a STRONG ranking by Standard & Poor's, the highest possible, as a consumer finance, automobile loan and lease servicer and whose principal operations are CenterOne Financial Services, Southeast Toyota Finance and DataScan Technologies; JM&A Group, one of the largest independent insurance and extended warranty group of companies in the U.S., ranked by J.D. Power and Associates as the "Highest Overall in Dealer Satisfaction with Service Contract Providers," and JM Lexus, the largest volume retail Lexus dealership in the world. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, FL, JMFE's major locations include Jacksonville, FL, Mobile, AL, Commerce and Alpharetta, GA and St. Louis, MO.
About Hunter Paine Enterprises
Established in 1999, Hunter Paine Enterprises, LLC (HPE) is a privately held company committed to developing innovative, cost effective and patented technologies that will be used as replacements for wood in commercial and industrial applications. The company's first product offering is Lexite™, a structurally superior wood replacement composite lumber. Launched initially into the transportation and logistics industry, Lexite™ will be used to build pallets and to supply replacement boards for pallets. Made from recycled post consumer waste including scrap tires, Lexite™ is 100% reusable and recyclable. As a company, Hunter Paine is committed to innovating traditional businesses with sustainable, ecological and pollution free products. Headquartered in Lafayette, CA, HPE also has manufacturing and office facilities in Pittsburg, CA.
Contacts
Hunter Paine: Danna Glauser 1-888-lexite1 (1-888-539-4831)
dglauser@hunterpaine.com
JM Family Enterprises: Anne-Beth Nemeroff (954) 429-2387
anne-beth.nemeroff@jmfamily.com
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