LA SEYNE-SUR-MER, France, March 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Heritage Worldwide, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: HWWI) , a top provider of pre-filled breast implants worldwide, announced that in order to meet increased demand worldwide for its breast implants, it is expanding its manufacturing capacity to accommodate the 38 percent increase in demand projected for fiscal 2007 -- to 145,000 units, from 105,000 units for fiscal 2006.
Jean-Claude Mas, Chairman and CEO of Heritage Worldwide, commented, "The progress we have made since March 2003 has been consistently on target and more than satisfactory. Our recent success is due primarily to the increase in the number of countries where we have been marketing our implants (new sale authorizations). In particular, we made substantial headway into Brazil and Argentina. We continue to do well in Europe, and have made significant inroads into Australia and Asia. We are very pleased to report our substantial growth and look forward to increasing our capacity even further in 2008 and beyond."
Heritage Worldwide sells its products directly in France and Spain, and through distributors in 63 other countries. Its focus is on Asia and the Latin American markets, which the Company believes are growing very rapidly.
The Company plans to expand its clean room to increase production levels. This expansion will increase manufacturing capacity 275 percent -- from 160,000 units to 600,000 units per year, enabling Heritage Worldwide to focus on its new products.
"Each product in our pipeline is truly innovative and already in various stages of development," added Mr. Mas. "Moreover, excluding breast implants which are Class III, our other pipeline products are Class II B, so each will be able to receive a CE mark more quickly, generally speaking."
During fiscal 2006, Heritage Worldwide announced new product initiatives as follows:
* a breast implant filled with a specially engineered hydrogel that mimics the physical properties of silicone gel, which will be a substitute for silicone gel, * an innovative dermal-filler, for the elimination of wrinkles and creases, * an anatomical breast implant, * silicone-rubber body support implants (testicular, buttock and calf), expected towards the end of 2007, and * perhaps its most innovative product, a breast implant that uses nanotechnology to coat and totally seal the implant with titanium, expected during the second half of 2009. About Heritage Worldwide, Inc.
The Company is incorporated in the State of Delaware. The Company's subsidiaries develop, manufacture, and market breast and other body implants and body support products worldwide. One of the Company's subsidiaries, PIP France, maintains its production facility in the Toulon metropolitan area in Southern France, with a distribution facility in Spain.
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-looking Statements
All statements included in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections about our industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by us. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks,""estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions and variations, or negatives of these words. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These forward looking-statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based upon the information available to us at this time. Such information is subject to change, and we will not necessarily inform you of such changes. These statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors.
Important factors that may cause such a difference for Heritage Worldwide include, but are not limited to competitive pressures and other factors such as the introduction or regulatory approval of new products by our competitors and pricing of competing products and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products, disruptions or other problems with our sources of supply, significant product liability or other claims, difficulties with new product development and market acceptance, patent conflicts, product recalls, United States Food and Drug Administration delay in approval or rejection of new and existing products, changes in governmental regulations, use of hazardous or environmentally sensitive materials, our inability to implement new information technology systems, and other events.
Our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.
Heritage Worldwide, Inc.
