Cell Impact AB (Nasdaq First North GM: CI B) announces that the 2020 Annual Report
2020 – THE YEAR MANY THINGS FELL INTO PLACE
Summary below, to read the entire report visit the Cell Impact site.
SUMMARY OF 2020
- The company had its highest sales performance
- Production increased
- The company received several important tool
- The Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact but the company carried out many customer- driven activities with good
- New capital raised (SEK 4 million) to finance additional development and marketing.
- Cell Impact moved to new, larger premises where the company can
- The company also received several large tool orders that lay the foundation for increased activity in
- A further developed second-generation high velocity forming unit was put into Together with related equipment, it improves on an already efficient production method and offers even lower maintenance costs.
SALES
Our customers have strong and often leading market positions and are generally experiencing high growth. We are also growing alongside our customers in their respective markets and 2020 started strong. Sales in- creased sharply and for the first time consisted largely of flow plate production.
From the first quarter and part way into the second quarter, Cell Impact’s production was continuous, utilizing a significant share of available capacity. During the second quarter, however, the Covid-19 pandemic began to have a negative impact on customers and the company’s order book. Cell Impact’s production decreased and only during the final quarter of the year did production and sales recover to satisfactory levels. All in all, 2020 is the year when flow plate production really took off.
Financial development
Despite a year in part characterized by uncertainty, we are now hopefully moving toward a much more stable future. The large national subsidies for hydrogen tech- nology that have now been communicated by several countries are contributing to continued strong growth in the sector.
“In addition to the fact that the production method itself is environmentally friendly, Cell Impact Forming™ contributes to making fuel cell manufacturers more competitive, thus accelerating the transition to a greener society.”
Tool orders driving production
A number of important tool orders for both prototype and series production contributed positively to Cell Impact’s sales development.
An extensive order from a leading North American company, which has involved both design improvements and prototype series, was delivered after two years of development work. Learnings from this and similar projects will provide the basis for a new, improved design and more efficient production of flow plates.
Tool orders are the foundation for future sales since a tool is synonymous with a flow plate. And a number of tool orders aimed to verify Cell Impact’s ability to form advanced flow plate patterns, our forming pro- cess and the tool life cycle.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The Covid-19 pandemic has made it particularly difficult to make forecasts, but all around us, we can see adjustments that are making it possible for society and companies, including our customers, to function, which gives us hope that the trend will remain positive as we return to a more normal way of life.
CELL IMPACT FORMING™
Cell Impact Forming™ is the new name for Cell Im- pact’s patented high velocity forming and the foundation of Cell Impact’s offering. Earlier, we called our forming technology “high velocity adiabatic forming”. We now call it Cell Impact Forming™ because it is unique and the name makes it easier to communicate the experience-based benefits of our forming tech- nology. We are building Cell Impact with Cell Impact Forming™ as a base. That Cell Impact Forming™ provides such high-quality and effective flow plates is partly due to the fact that the forming process takes place at a higher speed than with conventional methods. Cell Impact Forming™ is also an example of green technology since the amount of energy required for forming is relatively small and the method also does not require lubrication that needs to be washed away using large amounts of water.
In addition to environmentally friendly production, Cell Impact Forming™ helps make fuel cell manufacturers more competitive, thus accelerating the transition to a greener society.
Cell Impact’s customers have often done the math and concluded that Cell Impact Forming™ is the most scalable and accessible technology on the market. As a company, we have developed to such an extent that now is the time to start working with even more customers by offering Cell Impact’s expertise and Cell Impact Forming™.
Areas of expertise
Within the framework of Cell Impact Forming™, in connection with tool development, Cell Impact also offers services for optimizing and adapting production to the advanced design of modern flow plates. Our knowledge and experience enable us to offer customers additional benefits thanks to the unique properties of our manufacturing technology.
Expanding in Spain
In December 2020, Shigeru Nakagawa was recruited as President to set up a new sales office in Tokyo. Shigeru Nakagawa, who previously worked as New Business Development Director for NKC Japan, is now tasked with developing Cell Impact’s operations in Japan, building on the activities initiated with NKC during 2019.
In connection with taking over responsibility for Cell Impact’s business development in Japan our- selves, NKC and Cell Impact decided to end their sales collaboration that began in 2019.
At the beginning of 2021, Forrest Zhang was recruited as Country Manager for the Chinese market. For Cell Impact, Asia is a key market, particularly Japan, China and South Korea.
In 2020, the company ran a number of technical projects aimed at validating various aspects of its production technology. These activities are important for Cell Impact’s long-term growth and additionally have been, and continue to be, intensive projects that require high focus and commitment from staff.
Long-term tests
One of the technical projects included a long-term test of the tool and forming process, which was carried out with excellent results. The test showed that Cell Impact’s production machinery and tools work well during long-term operation. Long lifetimes for tools is of great financial importance to customers since this reduces the need for multiple tool purchases, leading to lower production costs. The result of the long-term test is a significant competitive advantage for Cell Impact when different forming methods and life- times of tools for high-volume production are evaluated.
Such projects give the company important information that makes Cell Impact more confident in the value of its offering and reinforces that the company’s strategy to become a leading manufacturer of flow plates is realistic.
Next generation production equipment
In 2020, we launched a next generation forming ma- chine under the working name Gen2. The machinery is significantly more compact as well as even easier and less resource-intensive to maintain compared with the previous model. Together with a newly developed feeding unit, Gen2 can produce flow plates with even shorter cycle times. Cycle time and simplicity in scalability are important parameters for the fuel cell industry, which in the long run will demand huge numbers of flow plates.
At the same time, the company began recruiting to manage the increase in production as well as in technology development where a number of interesting process and automation projects have started.
In December 2020, Shigeru Nakagawa was recruited as President to set up a new sales office in Tokyo. Shigeru Nakagawa, who previously worked as New Business Development Director for NKC Japan, is now tasked with developing Cell Impact’s operations in Japan, building on the activities initiated with NKC during 2019.
In connection with taking over responsibility for Cell Impact’s business development in Japan our- selves, NKC and Cell Impact decided to end their sales collaboration that began in 2019.
At the beginning of 2021, Forrest Zhang was recruited as Country Manager for the Chinese market. For Cell Impact, Asia is a key market, particularly Japan, China and South Korea.
In 2020, the company ran a number of technical projects aimed at validating various aspects of its production technology. These activities are important for Cell Impact’s long-term growth and additionally have been, and continue to be, intensive projects that require high focus and commitment from staff.
Long-term tests
One of the technical projects included a long-term test of the tool and forming process, which was carried out with excellent results. The test showed that Cell Impact’s production machinery and tools work well during long-term operation. Long lifetimes for tools is of great financial importance to customers since this reduces the need for multiple tool purchases, leading to lower production costs. The result of the long-term test is a significant competitive advantage for Cell Impact when different forming methods and life- times of tools for high-volume production are evaluated.
Such projects give the company important information that makes Cell Impact more confident in the value of its offering and reinforces that the company’s strategy to become a leading manufacturer of flow plates is realistic.
Next generation production equipment
In 2020, we launched a next generation forming ma- chine under the working name Gen2. The machinery is significantly more compact as well as even easier and less resource-intensive to maintain compared with the previous model. Together with a newly developed feeding unit, Gen2 can produce flow plates with even shorter cycle times. Cycle time and simplicity in scalability are important parameters for the fuel cell industry, which in the long run will demand huge numbers of flow plates.
At the same time, the company began recruiting to manage the increase in production as well as in technology development where a number of interesting process and automation projects have started.
About Cell Impact
Cell Impact AB (publ) is a global supplier of advanced flow plates to fuel cell manufacturers. The company has developed and patented a unique method for high-velocity forming, Cell Impact Forming™, which makes it possible to produce flow plates with more advanced designs, which in turn creates more cost and energy-efficient fuel cells compared to conventional forming methods.
The Cell Impact share is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market and FNCA Sweden AB is the company’s Certified Advisor (CA). Contact info: +46 8-528 00 399 or [email protected].
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