Dear Editor,
I know you from Yahoo message board. I’m interested in the investment in Dais. I’m glad to see some positive development for Dais in the recent weeks. I have one question about the deal in China. How much do you know about the status? Any further progress have they made? and how many potential customers have they contacted with? It’d be appreciated if any update about this.
Thanks,
Victor
Response:
Thank you Victor for reaching out, and your interest. Dais has begun shipping on this initial order to the water treatment facility in Inner Mongolia. We anticipate that the project ($48M purchase order) should be completed by the end of 2011 or the first half of 2012. Dais has been making strong inroads into the Chinese market, as evidenced by its being invited by U.S. Secretary Gary Locke to participate in a clean tech trade mission to China, and the company’s prior announcement of a distribution partnership with a Chinese firm which carries a 5-year term and a $200 million commitment for sales over this period. The $48M purchase order to the water treatment facility is part of this distribution agreement, so it appears to be tracking nicely.
As you probably know, the opportunity for Dais is vast, in China. China’s municipal water supply infrastructure is more than 120 years old, with the first water supply facility built in 1879. The total annual average water resource volume in China is about 2.8 trillion cubic meters, making China the fourth largest source for water in the world. But the water resource volume per capita is 2,200 cubic meters, putting it at an 88th ranking in the world – due to population. With forecasted population growth to 1.6 billion by the middle of the century, its per capital water resource is expected to be 1,760 cubic meters.
Making matters more challenging for China, is the fact that pollution in its watersheds is severe. According to a national surface water survey in 2002, 35.3% of the river sections surveyed could only fulfill the water requirements for Types IV and V water bodies (Type II is required for drinking water). According to a study of 24 primary lakes, only 6 are equal to or better than a Type III water body, 6 are partially deteriorated, and 12 are severely polluted. Of the total national groundwater resources, only 63% are usable as drinking water without treatment, 17% can be used for drinking water after appropriate treatment, 12% are unsuitable for drinking water but can be used for industrial and agricultural sources and 8% can be used as industrial water only after special treatment. (This data all comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce).
What makes Dais more compelling here, is that it is introducing membrane technology for treatment of water that acts on a parts-per-billion basis. The industry standard is parts-per-million. In fact, government officials in the province where Dais received that initial purchase order have made a recommendation to the national government that it adopt a parts-per-billion standard. This bodes well for further penetration for Dais into this market.