POMONA, CA, Sept. 14, 2009 -- General Environmental Management Inc. announced today that the Board of Directors has elected to shift its business focus from hazardous waste field services to the fast growing water treatment and waste-to-energy markets.
"After lengthy review and analysis of GEM's opportunity in the environmental management business, the board has elected to adopt management's recommendation that we move our focus to water treatment and waste-to-energy markets," said Tim Koziol, GEM's Chief Executive Officer. "While we believe that we could work through the current economic downturn and build revenue in our field services business, we believe that shareholders will be rewarded by moving the company into higher margin, faster growing business segments; especially the water treatment and waste-to-energy markets."
"A few weeks back we announced the sale of GEM MTS and in the process, improved our balance sheet," Mr. Koziol continued. "Our management team will be providing additional details in the near future about further changes to the current business structure that will help create a platform for GEM to enter these new markets. Water treatment and waste-to-energy are both multibillion dollar markets worldwide and provide much greater opportunities for growth and higher operating margins. Further our President and COO, industry veteran, Bill Mitzel, has the experience and insight to assess all potential opportunities and will move the company into the best strategic position to capture the highest reward for our shareholders."
President and COO Bill Mitzel commented, "Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing with our shareholders a vision and an operating plan to enter these new environmental waste management businesses. We have a concise understanding of these opportunities and look forward to tapping into these very large markets. We are extremely happy that the board chose to narrow our focus on this particular market."
Mr. Koziol concluded, "Domestically, the water industry is a $120 Billion market that is expected to grow at 6-7% over the next year. On a global basis, the industry size exceeds $400 billion annually and increasing with the demands of a growing world population. The industry is third in gross revenue behind both power generation and oil. The global waste-to-energy market is a $19.9 billion market with expected CAGR of 6.7% over the next five years. We believe these are markets that we can leverage our seasoned management skills to bring value to our stockholders. The entire team is motivated and excited in making this move."
About General Environmental Management Inc.
General Environmental Management Inc. (http://www.GeneralEnvironmental.com) is a full-service hazardous waste management and environmental services firm providing integrated environmental solutions managed through its proprietary web-based enterprise software, GEMWare, including the following service offering: management and transportation of waste; design and management of on-site waste treatment systems; management of large remediation projects; response to environmental incidents and spills; and environmental, health and safety compliance. Headquartered in Pomona, California, GEM operates five field service locations and one Treatment, Storage, Disposal facility (TSDF), servicing all markets in the Western U.S.
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