Carmanah Technologies Corporation (TSX VE: CMH Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges: QCX) today that its 700 Series solar-powered LED (Light Emitting Diode) marine lights have been officially approved for use on United States Coast Guard (USCG) aids to navigation. This approval was released by the Commandant for the USCG through Notice 16500 – issued on July 30, 2002 and entitled “Equipment for Discrepancy Buoy/Small Lighted Buoy Applications”.
“We are extremely pleased to have this approval, as it adds third-party credibility to our products by one of the world’s most sophisticated and respected marine authorities”, states Art Aylesworth, CEO of Carmanah. The USCG has been testing versions of the 700 Series since the original design was built in 1999 under USCG contract. “We expect this endorsement to have a significant impact on the success of our international marine sales program.”
Notice 16500 represents one of the first approvals of LED-based marine lights by the USCG. All area and district commanders have received notice that they are now officially permitted to use Carmanah’s 700 Series marine lights on discrepancy buoys, ATON stations, small lighted buoys and other platforms at their discretion. During 2002-2003, in an effort to reduce service costs, the USCG is performing a rigorous economic analysis of the total ownership cost of its traditional incandescent signals versus a potentially large-scale conversion to newer LED-based lighting technologies.
Carmanah’s 700 Series line comprises 3 models: the 701, 702, and 702-5. These units are entirely self-contained and feature unique, proprietary solar-powered LED lighting technology. They retail between US$1000 and US$1250 each and are designed to operate reliably nearly anywhere in the world with no maintenance for up to 5 years. In a comparison of marine lights by the Département Signalisation Maritime et Fluviale (France), Carmanah’s 700 Series units proved to offer the lowest cost of acquisition, the lowest cost of installation, as well as the lowest cost of operation for marine lights with visibilities up to 3.5 nautical miles*.
(* Mr. Jean-Pierre Wallard, Chef du Groupe Optique, Département Signalisation Maritime et Fluviale, Centre d’Etudes Techniques Maritimes et Fluviales / France, XVth IALA Conference, March 2002.)
About the United States Coast Guard
The USCG (www.uscg.mil) is a military, multi-mission, maritime service charged with a broad scope of regulatory, law-enforcement, humanitarian, and emergency-response duties. The Aids-to-Navigation Division of the USCG is currently responsible for the operation and maintenance of approximately 16,000 minor aids to navigation in the United States.
About Carmanah Technologies Inc.
Carmanah designs, manufactures and supplies patented, proprietary solar-powered LED lighting solutions to the marine, transit, roadway and railway markets. The company has distributors in over 80 countries and now has more than 45,000 units installed in 110 countries. The shares of Carmanah Technologies Corporation (parent company) are publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “CMH” and on the Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol “QCX”. For further information, visit www.carmanah.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Carmanah Technologies Corporation
Praveen Varshney, Director
For further information, please contact.
Media Contact:
Mr. David Davies
Harbourwerks Communications
Telephone: (250) 382-4332
E-mail: ddavies@harbourwerks.com
Corporate and Investor Contact:
Mr. Praveen Varshney, Director
Telephone: (604) 629-0264
Toll-Free: 1-866-629-0264
E-mail: investors@carmanah.com
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described under the caption “Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements” and “Key Information – Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and which are incorporated herein by reference. These risks and uncertainties are also described under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Information Form dated December 31, 2002, as filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission and which are incorporated herein by reference. We do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.