Thanks deckchair.
I normally also would have been worried about the US boys, however, the GDOT, the FHWA, the CODOT and EdenCrete's other very good and substantial US DOT connections, make me sure that everything will pan out very well. If EdenCrete was only catering to the private sector this might be another story. On the other hand, the early adapters in the private sector would have moved a lot faster than the GDOT have done. Please note that the FHWA were quick to give their seal of approval for FHWA funded projects using EdenCrete, which IMVHO, is an indication that the roll-out of EdenCrete will very soon take a significant step forward.
EdenCrete is a very disruptive technology and thus a game changer. There has already been some strong resistance to it, which is another reason why the commercial roll-out has taken so long.
Quite possibly EDE should have had a two pronged attack from the outset with EdenCrete i.e. both the government and the private sector. However, due to the extreme enthusiasm of the GDOT, the decision was made very early to go down this road, which is understandable. One thing that not only the EDE BOD's underestimated, but also me, was how long it would take for EdenCrete to get their first order from the GDOT (contrary to what the GDOT told me in November 2015!). The main problem was that the GDOT took ages to write the specs for EdenCrete (there were no existing specs that suited a totally new CNT based additive like EdenCrete, therefore the GDOT had to start from scratch). From memory this took nearly 18 months to happen, which was a severe setback and threw the EdenCrete roll-out timetable into chaos. In addition, EdenCrete has been, and is continuing to be, exhaustively tested, which is very time and thus cost consuming. This is all, however, the nature of the beast in the US due to their unique litigation laws i.e. nobody wants to take a risk with an entirely new product like EdenCrete before they are 100% sure. Having said this, EdenCrete has passed every test with flying colours, including now also being successfully used in the major Twiggs County project. This should be the springboard to many further orders of this type.
There was also the matter of the crucial EPA approval, which was required before the manufacturing plant in Colorado could be fired up (pun intended), that also took far longer than planned.
By the middle of this year, EdenCrete should be approved for Class A applications. This should give sales of EdenCrete a huge lift, as it will allow not only the GDOT, but also a host of other DOT's (with FHWA approval and funding) to use EdenCrete in their far larger infrastucture projects for new roads, highways and bridges. The completion of the NTPEP certification process for EdenCrete HC and PZ around the same time will provide additional and substantial sales impetus, as it will allow a very large number of US DOT's to also commence ordering EdenCrete (also with FHWA approval and funding).
Wishing you a good weekend!
Mark
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