Highlights
- New record for orders per month with 9.1% increase from highest historic month
- Order pipeline grew 23.3% month over month
- January can throughput of 9.4M, meeting management expectations
- Commercial printing operations achieved
- Internal technology development team established to forward technological initiatives
- Four key leadership hires to continue to build on our Operations and Legal departments
- New fillers for Baltimore and Las Vegas are on schedule for Q2 installation
- Initiated a no-plastic initiative to be achieved by 2024
- Initiated a renewable resource initiative to be achieved by 2025
- Initiated project to develop a mobile and web-based application for customer supply chain and manufacturing visibility
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Wildpack Beverage Inc. (TSXV: CANS) (OTC: WLDPF) ("Wildpack") is pleased to provide an update on the progress of our corporate initiatives.
"I am pleased with the cross divisional achievement of key performance indicators in January driving towards the strategic outcomes we have established for Wildpack on a 1, 3, and 5-year horizon. Leadership continues to be impressed with our team's ability to meet high expectations, delivering on fast timelines with great quality," said Mitch Barnard, Chief Executive Officer.
Growth Update
In January our M&A team continued to add targets to our pipeline and re-structured our transaction characteristics to match the current realities of our share price. Our current targets have been generally amenable to our updated structure as we continue to advance these discussions.
Our growth team has also prioritized facility builds in the near term, which can be financed with cash-on-hand or debt financing to capture the growing order pipeline described in the highlight section above. Our team is working diligently through the site selection process, and the planning required to deploy existing manufacturing assets into those locations.
The primary consideration for growth is location selection. Our continued goal is to enhance our network across the US.
Operations Update
January can throughput was 9.4M. This meets management's planned ramp-up utilization to achieve 300M cans of throughput this year.
Las Vegas in-house printing operations reached commercial level and is now producing many of the sleeves and labels consumed by our operations. As theorized and realized, this has increased our operations ability to reduce total lead-times and costs; providing the sales team with a new competitive advantage to win more business.
The new fillers for Baltimore and Las Vegas are high-end upgrades to existing assets, with installation causing no disruption to production, which management believes will increase the throughput and yields at those facilities.
Technology Update
We have advanced our modernization strategy to implement a B2B digital paperless portal, (See: Press Release dated Oct 26, 2021) with the project continuing on schedule.
Our Technology division has been enhanced with an internal development team which allows us to increase productivity, reporting, efficiency and reduce costs associated with implementing our technology strategy.
We initiated a project to build a customer mobile and web-based application. This will enhance the accessibility of the current web-based portal with beta testing to begin in H2 2022.
These enhancements will maintain us as a leader in technology in the beverage manufacturing space, better aligning our service with customer expectations in the digital age.
Key People Update
In addition to the onboarding of the technology development team, Wildpack added to our leadership team with the appointment of Elizabeth Thampy, General Counsel, Advaith Menon, Senior Manager, Operational Excellence, Dante Bruton, Quality Assurance Manager and Scott Samon, Director of Planning, Supply Chain. Elizabeth's experience with publicly traded small cap growth companies has immediately enhanced the internal controls and oversight at Wildpack. Advaith, Dante, and Scott have enhanced Wildpack's commitment to operational commitment to timely, quality production.
Environmental Sustainability Update
Sustainability is fundamental to our future. As global citizens we believe all companies have a social responsibility to structure their businesses to progress environmental initiatives. This is the leading cause of the massive shift into aluminum cans in the beverage market and why complete all production using this format. To further our alignment with sustainability, we have commenced initiatives to remove plastic from our operations and shift energy use to renewable sources on a staged basis by 2024 and 2025, respectively.
A more fulsome update on timelines and key milestones will be provided following the planning stage, which is currently in process at our corporate and divisional steering committees.
Per: "Mitch Barnard"
Mitch Barnard
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Advisors
Stifel GMP is financial advisor to Wildpack Beverage Inc., Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is its legal advisor.
Visit our investor website at:
https://investor.wildpackbev.com
About Wildpack
Wildpack is engaged in beverage manufacturing and packaging, operating in the middle market by providing sustainable aluminum can filling, decorating, and brokering services to brands throughout the United States. Wildpack currently operates facilities in Baltimore, Maryland, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia, Longmont, Colorado, Sacramento, California and Las Vegas, Nevada with a focus on digital innovation and sustainable ready-to-drink packaging. Wildpack commenced trading on May 19, 2021, on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS.V".
Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information
This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to Wildpack's plans and operating performance, the estimation of revenue, the timing and targets of M&A activity, costs, future capital expenditures, and the success of integration. Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks including but not limited to: risks related to the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to operations; risks related to general economic conditions and credit availability, actual results of current production and decorating, fluctuations in prices of aluminum; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the co-packaging industry; delays in the completion of capex activities, changes in national and local government regulation of manufacturing operations and labour laws in light of the current COVID pandemic, tax rules and regulations, and political and economic developments where Wildpack operates. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied by Wildpack are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of Wildpack's control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Although Wildpack has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties related to Wildpack's business, including that Wildpack's assumptions in making forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect; delays in filing of financial information; adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the beverage manufacturing and packaging sector in general; that future results may vary from historical results; and competition in the markets where Wildpack operates. Except as required by securities law, Wildpack does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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SOURCE Wildpack Beverage Inc.
