The Fall of 2021. TheNewswire - October 13, 2021 - Vancouver, British Columbia
What went wrong?
Dear Shareholders,
Our relentless spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and market disruption ambitions has resulted in a successful season for Clean Seed. The future looks bright as we continue to make robust inroads into the agricultural community here and aboard.
During the SMART Seeder™ launch and technology demonstration season we secured strong dealer distribution of the SMART Seeder MAX product line through tier one agricultural equipment outlets in Western Canada. In areas outside of these distribution arrangements, our team is working directly with prospective customers. We are pleased to report we are in the process of finalizing sales of our flagship SMART Seeder MAX-S™ and our premium model SMART Seeder MAX-5™. Our customers are progressive industry influencers, and we look forward to supporting and working closely with them to enhance their seeding season.
Against the backdrop of the current global supply chain challenges, near-term shortages, and long lead time conditions, we shifted our pending orders into our next cycle. We continue to focus on delivering an outstanding product and experience to our new customers and dealers during spring 2022. All other sales activities remain on track, including our ongoing demonstration programs and international outreach initiatives.
Institutional, government, agronomic and farming community interest in SMART Seeder™ grew beyond expectations in 2021 through our North American show programs. Severe drought and a multitude of pests had profound impacts across much of Western Canada and throughout the Northern Plains in the USA. Producers looking to change the way they manage crop inputs in the seeding furrow to limit additional crop stress and give seeds better access to water table moisture, have further turned their attention to the benefits of SMART Seeder MAX™.
We are innovators. Our MAX™ is the new benchmark in precision seeding technology and we pride ourselves in securing our innovations in key markets globally. We are pleased to report we recently broadened our intellectual property portfolio with applications for a new family of patents. Our advancements apply directly to the SMART Seeder MAX™ technology, the impact of which is to provide another layer of protection over key aspects of the SMART Seeder technology and lengthen our protection period.
Our brand-new facility in Saskatoon is on schedule for occupancy before calendar year-end. This facility will be the bedrock of our operations for both sales and operations in 2022. We are currently hiring new operations and production staff as well as additional technical resources to support the growth of our SMART Seeder MAX family of seeders.
We are also very proud to report our technology and related media materials were chosen to be aired over the next 180 days in the Canadian Pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai, a direct tribute to our successes and commitment to Canadian innovation for the international agricultural community. Our values, in particular our culture of innovation, keep our people, products, partners, and shareholders focused on our objectives.
As the SMART Seeder program in North America moves forward, we continue to evaluate high growth opportunities presented to our team and remain extremely confident in the role our technology will play in global agriculture. We have engaged National Bank Financial Inc. (“NBF”) to advise on forward-looking capitalization alternatives to support our growth. We look forward to a long strategic relationship with NBF.
Thank you to all our shareholders. We look forward to updating you all with the key developments in the coming months.
“Graeme Lempriere”
Chairman and CEO