Victoria, BC – October 30, 2003 – Carmanah Technologies Corporation (TSX VE: CMH) is pleased to announce its official launch into the worldwide aviation lighting market will be at the 75th Annual American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Conference and Exposition in Los Angeles, California, April 27-30, 2003.
The Conference is the largest show in the U.S. aviation industry, with approximately 4000 attendees. Carmanah will be at booth #242 presenting six solar-powered LED aviation lights for applications including temporary / permanent runway and taxiway edge lighting, obstruction, barricade, heli-pad and construction lighting.
“With our successful entries into the transportation, railway, and transit markets, aviation lighting was a natural progression for our Company,” states Art Aylesworth, Carmanah’s CEO. “We are already supplying solar-powered LED lighting for installation in some of the harshest environmental conditions imaginable. Through this experience, we have established a core technology that is extremely reliable, durable and long lasting – ideal for many applications in the aviation market. The response so far from our new aviation customers has been extremely positive.”
Preliminary sales efforts since mid-December, 2002, have resulted in sales of more than $300,000 into a dozen countries worldwide and over 20 installations across North America. To support its efforts, Carmanah has also launched a targeted web site, www.solarairportlights.com, to serve its growing list of customers.
Application highlights include a massive rolling barricade designed in response to post-9/11 security measures at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and a large taxiway edge, apron edge, and barricade lighting installation at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. In addition, Carmanah has supplied hundreds of lights for installation at a number of U.S. Air Force locations in the United States and the Persian Gulf. “We are using the lights for airfield taxiway and runway edge lighting,” states a U.S.A.F. sergeant in the Persian Gulf region. “The performance so far is outstanding with praise coming from the airfield management officers.”
Carmanah’s solar-powered LED aviation lights can be installed for approximately one-tenth the cost of conventional hard-wired systems. Vastly reduced operational costs yield additional savings over conventional systems, whose batteries and incandescent bulbs require frequent replacement. Carmanah’s aviation lights use solar power to operate autonomously for up to 5 years without any scheduled maintenance. The LEDs are shockproof, last for up to 100,000 hours and use a fraction of the energy of incandescent lighting. Each unit can be installed in minutes with no digging, wiring or external electrical connections.
Under the FAA’s Advisory Circular 150/5370-2E, Carmanah’s aviation lights are suitable for barricade and temporary construction applications at commercial airports. “About half of the 14,000 general aviation airports in the U.S. are currently without runway edge or taxiway lighting,” states Mike Ball, Carmanah’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “Each location represents a potential market for tens or hundreds of lights.”
About Carmanah Technologies Inc.
Carmanah is an award winning alternative energy manufacturer specializing in patented solar-powered LED lighting solutions for the marine, transit, roadway, railway, mining and aviation markets. The Company has more than 50,000 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 more information, please 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.