MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(MARKET WIRE)--May 2, 2008 -- During a conference call held yesterday, Sonomax Hearing Healthcare Inc. (CDNX:SHH.V - News) announced that Mr. Dan Casey would become the Chief Executive Officer of the company effective immediately, replacing Mr. Barry Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz will remain the non-executive Chairman of the Board of the corporation. Mr. Casey worked at Future Electronics for 15 years, where he ran the European operations based in London England as well as Asia Pacific based in Singapore. Mr. Casey then went on to become Executive Vice-President. Future Electronics is a multi billion dollar electronic components distributor with over 5,000 employees and over 150 offices worldwide. Prior to Future Electronics, Mr. Casey was 13 years at Asea Brown Boveri where his last position was President of ABB Flakt Ross the industrial drying division based out of Montreal. Mr. Casey has a proven track record and will be a very important component of leading Sonomax into its next phase of development.
Conference call highlights:
- The company needs to be single-mindedly focused on hitting the numbers, and the culture must be to meet or exceed commitments on a consistent basis. A detailed business plan is in place, the Sonomax team is aware of the expectations and have the necessary skill sets and motivation. Now, it is all up to effective execution.
- The Aearo acquisition by 3M will create an opportunity for Sonomax products to accelerate sales and broaden the customer base, since an additional 200 sales people will soon be in a position to sell and promote Sonomax’s hearing protection product as well as its testing software.
- The company has made significant cost reductions to be more in line with current sales numbers. The result is an SG&A reduction of well over 20%.
- The company’s focus for 2008 will be its hearing protectors, testing software worldwide, and its MP3 earphones sold under the brand Soundcage(TM)
- Sonomax has moved the organization closer to the customer with its own inside sales force and this will improve the management of the sales cycle.
- The company’s success in the industrial sector will be achieved by proactively growing the business one customer at a time and leveraging the sales at each customer site to grow organically. For customers with multiple sites the objective will be to establish a reference site and leverage that position to add additional new sites on a consistent basis.
- The mining sector continues to evolve in Australia where Rio Tinto is to add 1,200 more workers to the 2,000 it already protects. The company expects the same kind of success in mines in Canada and South Africa
- The Virgin tests market has yielded positive results which will now be integrated into a next phase retail go to market strategy.
About Sonomax
Sonomax Hearing Healthcare Inc. is a leader in the development and manufacturing of intra-ear technologies. The company’s patented custom-fit, instant-fit expansion earpieces deliver a perfect acoustic seal every time and can be certified by SonoPass®, the company’s proprietary, computer generated proof-of-performance software. Building on its technology leadership in hearing protection, Sonomax has expanded the applications for its technologies into high growth consumer markets such as MP3 audio, multi-media and gaming earphones, as well as Bluetooth(TM) headsets for telephony, through its subsidiary VitaSound Audio Inc.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Sonomax Hearing Healthcare Inc. with respect to its performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may vary significantly.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contact:
Contacts: Sonomax Hearing Healthcare Inc. Nick Laperle President 514-932-3745 nlaperle@sonomax.com
Source: Sonomax Hearing Healthcare Inc.
