Zenova Group (ZED), a fire safety and thermal insulation provider, announced the shipment of 7,500 units of its FX500 fire extinguishers to Clastrom, its German sub-distributor. The shipment is the first of Clastrom's total order of 40,000 units with a retail value of £1.2m. Zenova's current market cap is c. £3.7m.
Zenova first announced the large order in May when its value was estimated at £800k. Since then the estimate has climbed to £1.2m, as Clastrom readies to supply 10,000 units to its German customers by 15 July, with the rest to follow by end of 2023.
Zenova is currently in production of the novel FX500 extinguisher in Canada and the UK. The model was introduced in Q4 2022 and is now available for retail and commercial markets, having been tested to BS6165 standards. Zenova says it extinguishes "all fire types at the push of a button", and can operate at -10 C. It uses a proprietary fluid developed by Zenova that is highly efficient, making the extinguisher particularly effective against Li-Ion battery fire.
Zenova shares soared 7.6% on the news. The now £1.2m order from Clastrom for its customers in Germany testifies to the effectiveness of Zenova's previously announced strategy of using sub-distributors to penetrate overseas markets. Sales through the company's sub-contractors are set to accelerate into H2 2023.
The substantial size of the order relative to Zenova's market cap also speaks to the quality and capabilities of the FX500 extinguisher. The FX500 was first introduced in November 2022 with its first customer being the military of Ukraine. Since then, Zenova has received a £300k order from Amazon UK and an order for 500 units from Big Battery LLC, the US' largest Li-Ion battery supplier. Zenova products have also been specified for several regulated projects in the UK.
Zenova is well capitalised after raising £0.5m in May to fund its growth strategy, boosting its cash balance to £0.7m. The company also has access to an undrawn £0.35m capital loan.
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