NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axion International (OTCBB: AXIH), a leader in Recycled Structural Composite (RSC)™ technology used to produce ECOTRAX™ railroad ties and STRUXURE™ building materials, announced today the signing of a distribution agreement with Inversora Intervías S.A., a company owned by the same shareholders of Grupo Cometrans S.A., in Argentina, to be Axion’s distribution partner in the region. This distribution agreement immediately expands Axion’s global reach to provide the company’s 100% recycled plastic railroad ties in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Inversora Intervías SA, through its connection with Cometrans Group, which is a proven railroad industry leader, will establish marketing and sales functions for Axion’s ECOTRAX™ throughout the Mercosur region.
A collaboration agreement was also signed that provides the foundation and process for evaluating the formation of an operating entity that will manufacture, sell and market Axion’s ECOTRAX™ products in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. With orders already shipped to Chile, Colombia and Brazil, this agreement helps add to Axion’s continued penetration into South America.
“This is a significant step forward for Axion as we continue to expand our business globally,” stated Axion CEO & President Steve Silverman. “Inversora Intervías S.A. is a perfect partner for Axion. We have spent a good deal of time exploring this market and in finding the proper partner. Inversora Intervías, through its connection with Cometrans Group, brings all the key elements you look for in a partner. Grupo Cometrans is a major operator of transit and freight lines in the region and they manage more than 2,200 Km of track – thus having their own internal demand for rail ties. Additionally, they are a major manufacturer of rail cars, buses and other equipment used in the transportation industry. As a rail line operator they have a firm handle on the needs of the market and they have the operational experience and manufacturing infrastructure needed to be a major force in the region. In addition to being a rail operator and a manufacturer/seller of equipment to the industry, Cometrans has a culture of being innovative, community oriented and constantly bringing new technologies to the region. We are honored to be working with them.”
Claudio Cirigliano, President of Grupo Cometrans S.A., added, “Innovation is a primary foundation of Grupo Cometrans’ philosophy, and Axion is a key innovator representing a perfect match for us to forge an alliance. There are early-stage policies about recycling in Argentina, and this is an excellent opportunity to commit to this practice, and to become more environmentally friendly, which is one of the main aims of Cometrans S.A. Furthermore, the Mercosur is becoming a key agricultural producer to the world. In order to meet the challenges ahead, Argentina needs to upgrade much of its 35,000 (plus) Km of railroad infrastructure, which is composed mainly of wooden ties. As the wooden railroad ties are becoming increasingly scarce, Axion’s ECOTRAX™ ties are a perfectly suited solution for long-term installation in areas where replacement and repairs are a challenge to rail carriers.”
About Axion International Holdings, Inc.
Axion International Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: AXIH) develops structural building products in the United States and internationally from 100% recycled consumer and industrial plastics. It offers structural composite railroad crossties, structural composite I-beams, tongue and groove planking, and various sizes of boards for use in engineered design solutions, such as rail track, rail and tank bridges, pedestrian and recreation bridges, marinas, boardwalks, and bulk heading. The Company markets its structural products to the railroad industry, military, and industrial engineering and contracting firms. Axion International Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in New Providence, New Jersey.
For information, please visit Axion’s corporate website: www.axionintl.com.
About Grupo Cometrans S.A.
With the aim to participate in the concession and privatization process of the railway and underground passenger transportation service of the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, Argentine entrepreneurs with more than 60 years of experience in passenger transportation created Consorcio Metropolitano de Transporte S.A. (Cometrans).
Nowadays Cometrans and its subsidiary companies are currently responsible for carrying 381 million passengers by train every year and about 244,7 million by bus, employing over 16.600 people. Moreover, Cometrans has penetrated into the market through Emprendimientos Ferroviarios S.A. (EMFER), which is the main Argentine company dedicated to the railway industry and, since 2005, through Tecnología Avanzada en Transporte S.A. (TATSA), which manufactures buses. Cometrans develops public passenger, transportation, industrial and business services. For additional information, please visit Cometrans’s corporate website: www.cometrans.com.ar
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “safe harbor” provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause Axion’s actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated, including the availability of materials at favorable pricing, sufficient manufacturing capability and the risk factors identified in Axion’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.