CHARLTON, Mass., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- FiberCore, Inc. (Nasdaq: FBCE), a
leading manufacturer and global supplier of optical fiber and preform for the
telecommunication and data communications markets, today announced that it has
chosen Auburn, Alabama for its first U.S. manufacturing plant, which will
primarily produce multimode fiber.
The operating company, FiberCore U.S., will be a wholly owned subsidiary
of FiberCore, Inc. FiberCore will contribute one-third of the $30 million
estimated project cost and the remaining funds will be in the form of a
15-year loan provided by The Retirement Systems of Alabama ("RSA"), which
manages over $25 billion in assets. The loan will carry an 8% interest rate
with equal semiannual installment payments. The plant's property, plant and
equipment will serve as collateral for the loan. Under the terms of the
agreements reached with RSA and the City of Auburn, the funding commitment and
land grant expires on September 30, 2002 unless the Company makes an initial
draw on or before that date.
In addition to the contribution of the site property by the City of
Auburn, valued at approximately $1.1 million, FiberCore U.S. will be eligible
to receive tax abatements and credits and other incentives from the city and
state over the next 20 years with an estimated current value in excess of
$10 million.
"We are very pleased to have entered into this agreement with the RSA,
which will allow us to expand our presence in the U.S. market for multimode
fiber," commented Dr. Aslami, President and CEO. "The addition of a facility
in the U.S. is key to our being better able to serve our U.S. customer base
and provide them with faster delivery times. As the only independent fiber
supplier, we continue to be a favored supply source for independent cablers in
the U.S. and around the world. Based on early discussions, we expect that our
existing U.S. customer base would take the majority of the new fiber supply."
Dr. Aslami continued, "When completed, the facility will primarily
manufacture multimode fiber for the U.S. and global data communications
markets, where applications are internal to a facility, rather than single-
mode fiber that is used for the long-haul markets. Completion and start-up of
the U.S. facility will be approximately 15 months from when we break ground.
Given our desire to sequence our growth, we would hope to be able to move
forward by the end of 2002 in order to have the plant up and running in 2004.
We are fortunate to have flexibility to the commitment schedule in our
agreement with the RSA so that we can build when the market is ready for
additional capacity."
FiberCore, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets single-mode and
multimode optical fiber preforms and optical fiber for the telecommunications
and data communications markets. In addition to its standard multimode and
single-mode fiber, FiberCore also offers various grades of fiber for use in
laser-based systems up to 10 gigabits/sec, to help guarantee high bandwidths
and to suit the needs of Feeder Loop (also known as Metropolitan Area
Network), Fiber-to-the Curb, Fiber-to-the Home and Fiber-to-the Desk
applications. Manufacturing facilities are presently located in Jena, Germany
and Campinas, Brazil.
For more information about the company, its products, or shareholder
information please visit our Website at: http://www.FiberCoreUSA.com or contact us
at: Phone - 508-248-3900 or by FAX - 508-248-5588 or E-Mail:
sales@FiberCoreUSA.com; investor_relations@FiberCoreUSA.com
Except for the historical matters discussed above, the statements in this
press release are forward looking and are made pursuant to the "safe harbor"
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They are
based on the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those
projected as a result of certain general economic and business conditions;
loss of market share through competition; introduction of competing products
by other companies; changes in industry capacity; pressure on prices from
competition or from purchasers of the Company's products; availability of
qualified personnel; the delivery of an ability to commission new equipment as
scheduled; ability to obtain required financing; dependence on a limited
number of raw material suppliers; the loss or reduced creditworthiness of any
significant customers; and other factors detailed from time to time in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE FiberCore, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.FiberCoreUSA.com
CONTACT:
Dr. Mohd A. Aslami, President-CEO, or Robert
Lobban, CFO, both of FiberCore, +1-508-248-3900, or General,
Alison Ziegler, Analysts, Peter Seltzberg, or Media, Judith
Sylk-Siegel, all of FRB Weber Shandwick, +1-212-445-8400
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