MidtownGuy on other forum last night (excerpts) [sorry if copyright breach]
On iron ore peletization
- seeing it now from the inside, I have a much better sense of where the delays and lags come from. In virtually every case, it's either (or a combination of) 1/ the client extending the process at their leisure, in way that was completely unforeseeable, bringing in this engineer, and that division, and this guy, and those two, all because they are both excited by the tech and see additional opportunities and are being extra cautious because in most cases it's a paradigm change and giant companies change slowwwwwllllyyy, so cover their butts through blanket "analysis" and business case dev, and 2/ legal. The drawing out of the legal process is something to behold. They use gigantic law firms who like to make the process agonizing slow, with layer upon layer of delay. I'll withhold my opinions as to why that is, but you can gue$$.
- Client C is indeed investigating much wider usage, including downstream from pelletization, as per the presentation. The test plan for Client A is TBD, as it's entirely up to the client once they power it up. It did sound from the audio clip that Peter said both "4-6 weeks" and "months", so I'm not sure which he was referring to. Could be shorter too.
- Keep in mind too, the test plan wouldn't necessarily impact subsequent orders. They already know what it does, have had modelling data for a year, and have seen it operate inside at PYR for the FAT (which they approved). The test plan can be used for a variety of things: operations, installs and disassembly, training, etc.
- to these companies, in their opinions they are moving remarkably fast. To them, it's unheard of to go from what was conceptual as recently as 2019 (when the RISE consortium with PYR studied plasma in pelletization), to now placing orders and doing a swapout. We think it's slow, they think it's light speed. Perspective from age-old monolithic companies. But we're right there, and no one else is.
- 1/ that's where the advantage of PYR revenue diversification is coming into play, and 2/ the penalties are too big now for them to play games. Carbon penalty increases are in the realm of hundreds of millions of dollars. Plus they've published all these goals in their environmental reports; not accomplishing them attracts activist investors who want to force out board seats and executives. The miners are feeling that pain now. Rio, BHP, Arcelor, and Glencore are all under pressure from activist investors right now trying to force change.
On aluminum
- Aluminum has never been better. The business update NR laid it all out. The amount of stuff being pitched, including in entirely new directions -- all stemming from having been inside the factories with Drosrite -- is incredible. I wish I could give client names, as it's truly a who's who of the business world -- not just of the aluminum producer world.
On powders
- powder is all about qualifications / certifications. Those companies have their processes which just aren't revealed up front, so the steps are only seen once you commence. And because the big daddy is for making airplane parts, it's particularly critical aka slow, methodical, surgical. It's microscopic analysis again and again and again of the process, the facilities, and the powders. It's painful but necessary. Airline industry is safest of the safe for a reason.
- There's no answer other than when they are satisfied. The upside is it's already been going on for a lengthy period, so it's close to the end not the beginning. [Q concernig timelines]
- I will say there, the aerospace company is a big big fan of PYR, and clearly wants the company to succeed. They recognize the level of innovation for what it is.
- Powder is agonizingly slow because the industry is still nascent. They are all being extra cautious because it's pioneer days still. Yet PYR is in early. With a major advancement. The big players want PYR's success, because there's been few major innovations so far comparatively.
- The global aerospace is doing us a favour, as well as a favour for many other companies. With their certification, all of their subcontractors, suppliers, and service centres who also print components will then be essentially certified by proxy. And all kinds of other companies in the same or other industries will also piggy-back off that freebie qualification. "If XXXXXX qualified them, surely we don't need to."
- the suppliers and after-market service are potentially an equivalent or even bigger market than the aerospace firm itself.
General
- I will say the front-desk sign-in sheet at the PYR factories is interesting lately. Each week, some new bigwigs from far-off lands are being hosted for demonstrations. If they had drove, it would be quite the eclectic collection of license plates in the parking lot.
- Suffice it to say the company is not sitting on its hands. It's active with a capital "A".