LiqTech International, Inc. (NYSE MKT: LIQT) ("LiqTech") announces that effective today, Mr. Finn Helmer will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer of LiqTech. The Board is pleased to announce that Mr. Sune Mathiesen, currently Chief Executive Officer of Provital Solutions A/S ("Provital"), has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and a Director of LiqTech. Mr. Mathiesen will assume these positions on July 30, 2014.
Mr. Mathiesen comes to the Company through LiqTech's recent acquisition of Provital; his long experience in executive management, technical sales and turnarounds will greatly benefit LiqTech. The Board seeks to shift the emphasis of the Company towards strategically marketing its products and filtration solutions in order to accelerate revenue growth of the combined LiqTech/Provital business.
Mr. Mathiesen acquired the Provital business several years ago, taking it from the product development stage to a profitable and fast growing business. Sune's leadership helped Provital develop and successfully market a unique range of small footprint, cost-effective filtration solutions to the swimming pool and large water park markets. Prior to Provital, Mr. Mathiesen worked as a country manager for Broen A/S, a Danish industrial flow control business.
Aldo Petersen, Chairman of LiqTech, noted, "The Board wishes to extend its appreciation to Finn for the important contributions he made to the Company during his tenure, particularly the notable improvements in our production processes. Under his leadership, the Company made great strides in developing the highest quality silicon carbide membranes and driving the development of a 4-nanometer silicon carbide membrane that could result in direct desalination. The Board and I wish Finn continued future success as he takes his considerable talents to the next opportunity."
Commenting further, Mr. Petersen stated, "The Board welcomes Sune and his employees to the LiqTech family and we are confident that this acquisition will provide important applications technology and marketing leadership to the Company. LiqTech must now shift its focus to improving our sales and marketing success; areas where Sune has demonstrated considerable ability. We intend to expand the combined LiqTech/Provital sales force to meaningfully improve our ability to close more sales opportunities."
Remarking on the acquisition of Provital and becoming Chief Executive Officer of LiqTech, Mr. Mathiesen stated, "I am very excited to accept this challenge of leading the growth of the combined LiqTech/Provital business. I am very familiar with LiqTech and its products, as my company, Provital Solutions A/S, has worked with LiqTech for the past five years and has used its silicon carbide membranes as the core technology in our integrated filtration systems. We know first-hand the intrinsic value of its disruptive silicon carbide membrane technology, particularly its potential in solving many water-related problems."
In commenting further, Mr. Mathiesen noted, "My confidence in achieving the benefits of combining LiqTech and Provital, and the belief that we are on the cusp of significant growth were major reasons why I asked for no cash compensation in the sale of Provital but agreed instead to exchanging my shareholding in Provital for shares in LiqTech. Further, I willingly accepted aggressive future sales and EBITDA targets for Provital in order to achieve full value for the sale of Provital."
