VANCOUVER, B.C. – Mission Ready Services Inc. (TSX-V: MRS) (“Mission Ready” or “MRSI”) provides the following update on the operations of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Protect the Force Inc. (“PTF” or “the Company”).
Acquired by Mission Ready in May 2012, Protect the Force is a strategic consulting firm specializing in providing leading manufacturers with relationship management, product development, acquisition & contracting expertise, and sales & marketing support geared towards selling to the U.S. Federal Government. PTF is led by Gary Hess, an industry veteran, with extensive experience providing products, services and expertise to governments, first-responders and tactical markets. Protect the Force has a robust infrastructure comprised of a network of industry professionals, an efficiently-coordinated supply chain, an unparalleled dealer organization, and a leading edge research and development faculty.
PTF serves clients primarily with sales of products to the US Department of Defense, the largest department of the US Government with a spending budget in excess of $600 billion in 2012, and other government agencies within the US and other countries. PTF’s pipeline of potential sales of its client’s products totals in excess of $100 million.
On November 22, 2013, respirator manufacturers received notification from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear testing errors at the governments Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC). During a period from July 2012 through October 2013, ECBC utilized concentrations of Chemical Warfare Agents (CWA) that contained less concentration than was required under NIOSH testing procedures. As a result of these errors, NIOSH and ECBC temporarily halted all CWA testing until test procedures could be validated and are re-testing affected products. A NIOSH User’s Notice is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/ and provides additional background information and next steps from their side.
This issue has impacted all manufacturers who had products tested and/or approved over this 15-month period at ECBC including products placed for a client by PTF. The client has currently halted deliveries of this product pending completion of the re-testing by ECBC. PTF’s client conducts its own rigorous internal testing and as a result has a high degree of confidence that their products will pass the re-tests. Shipments of product are not expected to resume until after April 2014 wherein commissions earned by PTF in placing these orders for its client will become payable. This may negatively affect the Company’s working capital until time of payment.
PTF is continuing to bolster its presence in the United States and has identified numerous opportunities warranting its further expansion into Colombia and other emerging South American countries as well as Canada. PTF has developed distribution channels for US companies to market to the Colombian military and is successfully completing sales of client products into South America and Canada.
The mission of Protect the Force is to save lives and enhance the performance of security personnel and those who protect us, by working to ensure they are equipped with the best possible personal protective equipment.
For further information, visit the Company’s website at MissionReady.ca or contact:
Terry Nixon – Director, Corporate Communications
Telephone: 1.877.479.7778
Mission Ready Services Inc.
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “project”, “budget”, “schedule”, “may”, “will”, “could”, “might”, “should” or variations of such words or similar words or expressions. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by Mission Ready Services Inc. as at the date of such information and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Mission Ready Services Inc.to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.
Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable. Although Mission Ready Services Inc. has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Mission Ready Services Inc. does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
