22.02.2007

Airtrax raises more funds

Airtrax the US based Sidewinder fork truck and Cobra aerial lift manufacturer has raised $3.2 million net to fund further growth.

The company has issued investors with $3,734,040 in secured debentures which are convertible into shares of common stock, at a price of $0.45 per share.

The debentures mature on February 20, 2009, the company can redeem them at its discretion, at a price equal to 150 percent of the principal amount balance, subject to certain equity conditions being met. Investors were also issued warrants to purchase shares of common stock at exercise prices ranging from $.54 to $1.25 per share.

"With investment funds being received, I believe that the implementation of our new business plan will be greatly facilitated," said Airtrax's chief executive officer, Robert Watson.

"I believe the generation of new distribution channels, the heightening of our marketing presence with existing and potential customers, and the leveraging of our premium supplier relationships, will all be positively impacted by this transaction."

"We have been investing key technical and managerial hires this year along with critical and in-depth market research to identify those markets where new applications of our Omni-Directional technology will result in the highest rates of return”.

“We believe that our prior development efforts are continuing to produce results, as seen in our progress in delivering a demonstration prototype of the Omni-Directional equipment handler vehicle in April to the Israeli Air Force”.

“We still anticipate the availability of our new product, the King Cobra aerial work platform, for sales and distribution in the second half of 2007”.

Vertikal Comment

Airtrax was at one time involved with Fil Filipov’s Clark lift and lost a considerable sum with that company’s failure. It has been struggling with its omni directional wheel technology for some time now, having worked with MEC on its Phoenix scissor lift two years ago.

The fact is that the market for such equipment is very niche and there are alternatives on the market. While Airtrax could yet succeed in specialist markets such as defense and aviation, it will not be easy.