ethical investor article, page-3

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Making money out of muck. As the world produces more and more waste, companies such as MediVac are stepping in with environmentally friendly ways to clean it all up.
Profile by OLIVER WAGG

Over the past 12 months Sydneybased
medical waste and infection
control systems developer MediVac
(ASX: MDV) has reported some very
positive news.
In September 2010 major shareholder Copulos
Group showed its support by converting a
$400,000 loan into ordinary shares. This was
reinforced by two additional sophisticated
investors taking a placement of about 22
million shares for $155,000. Then in November
the company secured a $20 million equity line
with US-based Dutchess Capital through which
MediVac can call on funds in $250,000 tranches.
MediVac?s MetaMizer waste converter
simultaneously sterilises and shreds clinical
waste on site, providing hospitals, quarantine
facilities and medical research facilities with
a proven and environmentally friendly, biohazardous
waste management system.
With solid financial backing behind it, the
company in December announced that it
had signed an agreement with the Sri Lanka
Ministry of Health to establish clinical waste
management systems in the country.
With hospital waste increasing year by year
? currently 0.9 to 1.1 kg of clinical waste and
9 kg overall of waste is produced per bed per
day in Australian hospitals ? the company
is operating in a substantial market, chief
executive Paul McPherson says.
MediVac?s MetaMizers reduce the volume
of waste to landfill by up to 90 per cent
without using chemicals or incineration.
Importantly, the system minimises the OH&S
risks associated with the handling of clinical,
sharps and infectious waste and sterilises and
granulates this waste in just 12 to 15 minutes.
Similarly the Ozonator treats bio-waste
through the use of ozone, which has
been used to sterilise for over 100 years.
The machine has proven safety and
efficiency, as well as providing improved
infection control, and reduces waste
handling with no harmful chemicals.
Once the ozone is used it is converted
back into oxygen in a sealed environment.
?We?ve spent a number of years doing all
the R&D work ? the company first started
before I came on board in 2004-2005 and
was very under-capitalised ? and then
funders came on board form the end of
2007 to allow us to accelerate product
development,? McPherson says.
?The Sri Lankan order is really going to be the
making of the company.?
McPherson is presenting the final proposal
to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health as Ethical
Investor goes to print.
?Once we get through that it?s really full steam
ahead. We will have to significantly gear up,
which will require some capital,? he says.
As yet the company hasn?t decided which
funding route it will take.
?We?ll be looking at a number of funding
alternatives ? we might even consider a rights
issue or look to the market for some high-networth
individuals, or some small institutions,?
McPherson says.
The company seems to be an obvious target
for sustainable investors.
?We?re a green company and we have two
solutions that really fit well with clean and
safer healthcare solutions,? McPherson says.
MediVac is also developing SunnyWipes,
an eco-friendly range of antimicrobial hand
sanitising gels and hard surface wipes
that are both recyclable and compostable.
SunnyWipes are made from natural ingredients
and are registered on the Therapeutic Goods
Australia (TGA) register. The product includes
a moisturiser, complies with World Health
Organization standards and the hard surface
wipes are hospital-grade disinfectors.
MediVac is also looking for commercialisation
partners for its Diakyne unit, which detects
trace element in body fluids, such as blood
and urine, with its proprietary innovation,
TraceSmart. ci