for more information about stanelco click on the links.

driver's research page link
http://www.moneyam.com/InvestorsRoom/posts.php?tid=7681#lastread
website link
http://www.stanelco.co.uk/index.htm

good morning andy. i am relaxed. even taking into account seo's ability to surprise, i get the feeling that until the biotec deal is done and dusted , not much is going to happen.

Good to have your popst, Andy. I get the impression that some are getting somewhat concerned at the lack of news - no news is bad news syndrome. You are right that a company will onl;y announce an order if its significant, like that of theb first ASDA suppliers which led to the implementation of the contract. Its good that you know from the industry grapevine that those orders are coming in and that retrofits are happening. ASDA, of course, have ways of making them buy! - particularly by advising that the payments will be reduced anyway to suppliers to achieve their share of the profits. There is relatively little news being marked up as it is the holiday season. So it is patience for September and, I think, the US and hopefully Wal-Mart.

Eric

The best part about the current lull in news is that the posters in the pump&dump brigade and those slagging off SEO seem to have moved elsewhere. I agree with all those who regard this thread as one for those who are taking a 2, possibly 3, year view. SEO is very much in that category; anyone who has ever tried to build up a company will know how difficult it is trying to live up to the timescales those on the outside might expect of them. I'd rather they were not hassled, and pressured, to produce results, which might mean doing deals in a way they, and we, would come to regret. Leave well alone and I think we shall all end up doing very well out of this.

Sharesure: excellent sentiments. I have been impressed with the way SEO have been laying the foundations for a very successful business. They have a number of irons in the fire but have been concentrating on those which will give a good return in the short to medium term. But I also find it heartening that they have been wide enough awake to grasp an opportunity like Biotec and that they have already appraised the synergy with other aspects of their business. Basically we seem to be 'down' to the occasional ii and I find him/her quite amusing because of the arrant bias.

I think the key thing is to be realistic in the likely development timescales. The ASDA contract tooke longer to establish than we expected and for the year to commence: four months instead of 1 month, but then there was ggod reason for that because we now know that the trials produced the stats that ASDA needed to enforce their contracts with suppliers. We also know through andysmith that things are progressing well behind the scene. Phase 2 with Greenseal is the US roll-out. After initial news bursts from over there, all has gone quiet there. I am pretty confident that negotiations are going on with various supermarket chains. I think a contract with Wal-Mart is better than 60% odds because it fits so well with their strategy, they have access to all the ASDA data and the impact is obvious in cost reduction and marketing positives. The bigger this deal is (in terms of markets and possibly exclusivity) the longer it is going to take to negotiate. SEO are not going to take any other contracts that might prohibit the big one.

It looks now that we won't get any announcements before the EGM but should get an update then (are analyst briefings arranged, do you know?). The sp has been gradually easaing as the quick-buck brigade depart, ready to pour back in on RNS, or more likely rumour - rumour is much preferred because they may be ahead of the game. But that just supports SEO's approach of holding their cards close to their chests.

Eric

Eric, One thing that the directors said at the AGM to do with Walmart, was that what SEO were able to offer them in terms of meat packaging would enable them to change fundamentally how they currently go about that side of their business. At the moment they have in-house butchers; with the longer shelf life attributable to Greenseal, they could presumably bring in their meat from a distribution point, probably saving a great deal in the process. That sort of re-engineering would take time, if only to deal with the manpower implications. So we are right to be patient, much as earlier news would be welcome if it was possible

Sharesure: I remember the comments. That's one of the reasons why I think there will be a big deal with Wal-Mart, but it is a strategic matter and may take time to negotiate and set up. Suspect we will be able to read between the lines of copmments at the EGM. You are going, aren't you, and no doubt you will be digging down this avenue. I feel every other issue, including Biotec, frogpack, other markets and products, pales into insignificance as a world-wide marketing deal with WM would be worth 1 on the sp!

Eric

Eric, I will be going to the EGM and will try to glean what I can. I am sure you are right about Walmart; one thing the Americans are good at in my experience is taking financial decisions and I suspect Walmart are true to that as well. Walmart would be a real boost when it comes, in particular the credibility it would give in talking to others. Hope SEO do not get driven into another 12 month exclusivity deal unless logistically they could not cope with more.

Sharesure: agree except perhaps re the exclusivity angle. The ASDA deal obviously locked ASDA in but also allowed SEO to focus rather than be diluted over the various supermarkets operators. SEO would only benefit from such a deal with WM if the scale was such that it would lock in resources for the following year. I have a sneaking feeling that it will go that way!

Eric

Eric, Good thinking, provided they do not also expect to screw down the terms too tightly as well.
You didn't say whether you are going to the EGM. If you are, let me know by email how to to recognise you, assuming you are happy to be recognised!

sharesure, go to pth's golf challenge thread to see a shy looking eric collecting his trophy.
i think eric pointed out the "turnkey" phrase in the last major rns. seo cannot provide this until the biotec deal is done and dusted.
i also have a little bit of uncertainty about biotec's patents. who does actually own them? biotec or kashoggi? the link to the earthshell page made things a little muddy, but then again, considering seo's recent history, i would imagine that balchin and his board are experts in patent law and ownership, and it's not something seo should be stiffed on. can anyone clarify?

Bosley, either I'm not doing something right but my search facility on threads does not seem to find anything. Guess Eric will have to remain anonymous. As for EGM questions I have quite a list to ask on the subject of Biotec, etc. Always happy to ask questions for others too.

A gasp as I sip on my Irn Bru this morning!

morning all. fonty??? wtf?

Morning Boz. Something mixed with the Irn Bru, methinks!!!
Alan

Morning all

Never thought I would say this as I have been an FYB addict on SEO for some time now. However, some of its members have reduced the intelligence level on FYB over the past few weeks and now I quite enjoy reading this board.

There are several contributors on here with some very sound and clear thinking which helps to keep the content within the realms of reasonable possibility rather than a load insane hyperbole.

Keep up the good work.

The oily one

Eric Hi,

Wal-Mart don't have in store butchers, they got rid of all of them a few years ago, and changed all Wal-Mart meat to case-ready in MAP.

Cheers,
PM

PM, I was quoting what Howard White told me at the AGM; I would have thought that he should know as he had just returned from the States having set up SEO's office there. If he doesn't know what he is talking about then that is worrying.

Sharesure Hi,

From the info on my website ....

Chris Simons, group brand manager of case-ready meat for Cargill, Minneapolis, MN, which owns Excel, says Other retailers have converted part of their casebeef, pork, or grindsor some stores to case-ready, but Wal-Mart is the only retailer that is 100-percent case-ready. Cargill operates seven case-ready meat plants that supply product to retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, Shaws, and Teeters, Simons says.

Wal-Mart would not respond to our inquiries except through a spokesperson who stated: We have had positive customer reaction regarding our case-ready meat product line. We find that case-ready meat offers a variety of benefits to our customers including enhanced quality control, better overall appearance, and the increased ability to keep products in-stock.

Just what is case-ready meat? Meat industry veteran Dan Murphy, former editor of Meat Marketing and Technology, and now vice president of public affairs with the American Meat Institute, defines case-ready as Fresh meat prepackaged and/or prelabeled at a central location. Packaging ranges from film-sealed trays to pouches, bags, chubs and thermoformed packs using vacuum or other type of modified atmosphere packaging.

Cheers,
PM

Local authorities face stricter targets on the amount of waste sent to landfill
and as the costs of disposal significantly increases due to increases in
landfill tax, the UK will have to find radical solutions to reduce waste and
increase recycling. PM Group, established in 1985, is well placed to address
this market with its popular WasteWeigh system for waste vehicle payload control
and its accredited and patented BinWeigh system for weighing the amount of waste
and recyclables in wheeled bins as they are being emptied.

http://www.companyannouncements.net/cgi-bin/articles/200508181400172530Q.html

I posted this on another board a couple of days ago.
This is one of the best explained articles on the future of oil I have read, its well worth a read, Note the view that the cost of oil based packaging will double.

Although we never know what the future holds, the views given by the author are scary.

Just one excert.... Shipping costs will quickly double, as will the cost of packaging with plastic.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?ar ticleID=1888

How Serious is Peak Oil?
by Thomas Dawson
August 16, 2005