Concern over Past OTC Pump & Dump Burns...
18 June 2006
EB Reader & PK Correspondence
PK,
Thank you for your earlier timely response. I will be looking forward to your next ElectriPlast Blogpsot post as events unfold this year and beyond. I don't have a very large position in this company, and what I did contribute towards my investment of ITKG was with what little in can spare within my tight budget. This is why I am searching for every tidbit of information I can find. I too, did not have very much luck with IR in receiving any definitive answers and actually was left feeling like I had MORE questions after speaking with their IR representative. If I could receive any positive definitive information, I would quickly double my position with the remaining funds that I can spare.
Unlike many other OTC.BB companies, the amount of patents ITKG holds rights to is staggering. The claim Aisenbrey has about his product makes me wonder why tech companies haven't been scrambling to adopt ElectriPlast into their manufacturing methods.
Is it because ITKG will simply choose not settle until "the price is right?"
I wonder if I took a trip up to Bellingham, if IR would show me a working model of one of their ElectriPlast / Plastenna products. Actually being able to physically see and use one of their prototypes while comparing it to existing technologies would make me a much more confident investor.
Do you know of anyone who has attempted anything of this sort?
I am inclined to think that they wouldn't allow it for a small time investor such as myself, considering how secretive IR seemed to be on the phone with me. Which leads me to my next question:
Why all of the secrecy?
Why is information regarding 'who' they are aligning themselves with such a mystery (excluding the Heatron contract)?
Since Integral's IP is currently protected, what would it hurt to make that information public?
I consider myself a progressive investor and I believe the future holds many exciting developments. I'm fascinated by the opportunities in the unfolding technologies in the other stocks I own hold such as Suntech Power(solar energy), Evergreen Solar, Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy ETF, Intuitive Surgical (robotic assisted surgery equipment), Exelisis (promising biotech), WiMAX stocks, etc. All of these companies had a much greater amount of information available prior to my plunking money down on their stock, which made me much more confident. Of course, many of these came at the recommendation of Tobin Smith or my Fool.com 'rule breakers ' subscription service.
All of these stocks / ETF's have tons or room to grow as they their market penetration grows over the next decade. My hope is that the same occurs with ITKG. I think one of the greatest things that could happen for this company would be to get out of the OTC.BB range and become listed on the NASDAQ exchange, resulting in a much higher visibility. I believe much more information will need to be released by ITKG before that happens. Warren Buffet once said: "I only invest in what I can understand." To date, the only things that I truly understand are:
(1)Integral's IP presents potential for huge profits in the future.
(2) Tom Aisenbrey's claims are terrific but I've never personally seen or used their product, therefore I do not fully understand it.
(3) Tobin Smith is touting the stock, but I do not know if he has ever personally validated the performance of ElectriPlast-enhanced products, therefore I don't know if he fully understands this company either. It's probably worth noting that Tobin is a multi-millionaire and has a lot more "Vegas Money" than I and can take a substantial hit to his portfolio without blinking.
(4) My thoughts often wonder "why the secrecy?" Their IP is now secured by the patent office.
(5) Although I could hardly claim to be an expert in solar power, robotic assisted surgery, WiMAX applications and biotech, the amount of public information on these other tech companies was much greater, giving me a much better grasp at being able to understand the companies' concepts. It has been almost uncharacteristic of me to invest in a company with so much speculation abound. Again, I'm banking a lot of the reputation of Mr. Smith.
(6) The stock has held strong in the mid 2's range for the past month and half, which leads me to believe there a large number of people feeling more confident, or at least as confident as I do about this company's products. The volume drastically decreased last Friday but no but the price actually increased. I would take that as a good sign since no one sold off when volume decreased. It would lead me to believe most ITKG investors are adopting an accumulate strategy.
My apologies if I've sounded too negative. I'm just very analytical and try to objectively analyze all of my stock picks from both the positive and negative. Also, you're one of the few that I've managed to get any type of intelligent answers from regarding ITKG, as most message boards I visit (such as RagingBull.com) involve people simply belittling one another instead of intelligently attempting to analyze this company's prospects. In the end, the positive indicators still outweigh the near silent secrecy of corporate. I'm still holding and am prepared to hold for a long time.
I just feel that I've worked too hard for my money to invest in an irresponsible manner, and having been burned by a couple other OTC.BB companies, want to be as sure as possible about this one. (I told myself this is the last time I would try investing in an OTC.BB company.) Like I said before, your website / insightful email responses help boost my confidence in this company. I could only wish that IR would begin to follow that trend. Keep up the great work on the website PK!
Regards,
-------------------
Hi again EB Reader,
Your note struck a chord throughout the reading. If you were to call and tell IR that you were in the area and merely wanted to see if the investment was real or not, offering to make an appointment during your stay, I think they very well may accommodate you--but they will probably ask you to sign an NDA (non disclosure agreement) before they showed you anything of value, and explained more about what was on the horizon. Were I there instead of here in Germany--well I would miss out on all of the good beer to be certain--but I would do just that in order to validate my investment and ensure that there was more to it than a fly-by-night penny-stock option...
At least that is what I would want to do...
As for the secrecy, there is a story--I touched upon parts of it in my Blog when I discussed the company's past relationship with IAS Communications, which eventually ended up in a lawsuit. Since that time, Integral's management has had its trust sorely tested by entities exposed to the capabilities of ElectriPlast and the potentials displayed. Think on it this way, one business motto is 'its a dog-eat-dog world'. To this end and as a result of experience, Integral ended up hiring a top notch law firm to represent them. They have aligned themselves with QuanStar as a mediator to push their product and act as a medium between other aggressive companies looking for an advantage in today's marketplace. They also get advice and financing from two strong money market leaders Wells Fargo and Wellington Financial--who itself is invested into the ElectriPlast potential.
In short some of Integral's earlier attempts to market their product through larger named entities backfired. These entities hindered progress (either in hopes that Integral would run out of money and bankrupt itself--or until they could steal Integral's Intellectual Property (IP) from underneath them) all the while smiling in the company management's face and offering assurance after assurance.
You can even look at the attitudes of an number of the questionable, but definitely agenda-biased entities on the RagingBull as an example as to why it would not be wise to share information with such unknowns. What they might do with unique or privileged information in a medium where irresponsible & anonymous interaction is the norm rather than the exception is troublesome. Were one of these individuals to have access to--and take bits and pieces of that information as spread it as truth or as falsehoods for whatever reasons drive them, well, such a scenario in a rumor-driven arena could end up being even more harmful.
Think on it in this light, why do you think Integral chooses to be so secretive--more over, why do you think they are so aggressive on the patenting of their IP.
In short, the management is looking to market their ElectriPlast / Plastenna materials, but in an extremely smart manner, wherein they maintain the maximum control over their product--and at the end of the day, the maximum control over incoming revenues.
It is a thankless position they have put themselves in, but there is a method to the madness.
Unfortunately, I cannot explore this train of thought on the ElectriPlast Blog because--though some of the facts are known--at the end of the day, I will come off as more than a shareholder interested in exploring the good, bad and ugly related to the company. I will end up sounding like a shill, touting the pluses, and with that, my judgment and perspective would be damaged by implication.
Better to let people uncover the facts and reasons for themselves--the facts are indeed out there if you choose to read between the lines. Moreover, if you do have access to the company and can visit, you can present the questions yourself in person, and get point blank response to base your judgments upon.
Although they do not tend to talk bad about existing companies (mainly because there remains a necessity to possibly do business through them) they may detail underlying facts related to a past episode of interest were it done in person. If the response validates what I have noted above, or whatever you uncover on your own, great.
Just keep in mind, the company has made mistakes, but throughout it all, it has learned, adjusted and compensated for their weaknesses or shortcomings--and continues to look forward.
There is a finish line out there. Once the product emerges on the marketplace, and the diversity is truly exposed, you will see that this is not a mere "3-Bagger," and that your investment could be as farsighted as those who initially invested in eBay, Microsoft, AOL, or Starbucks when those companies first came on the scene.
Integral has developed a foundation; they have the advisors and contact people in place; they have marketed their product with some 40 plus companies who have been testing it in-house for their own uses and schemes; they have financing established; they have legal issues covered through Preston Gates Ellis; and finally they are taking care of the supply chain issues (manufactures and material producers who supply the mixed product to those 40 plus companies).
This is the news you would want to watch for over the coming months. After this is firmed and established, the starting gun will sound off, and the race to that finish line will begin.
Granted, that is merely my opinion. But logically speaking, it is the only piece of the puzzle missing at this point.
Once in place, there is absolutely no reason why this rocket would stall. Heck, they have already established chain of command protocols. The team, if they must go anywhere, each travels separately (on different planes, different vehicles, whatever) just to ensure that the dream continues despite the loss of one of its figureheads.
In my honest opinion, they are taking this seriously, I understand your concerns, but I believe what we are watching from the sidelines is real, and the potential explosive...
Alright, enough with the conspiracy theory talk. If you have the chance to pay a visit, I encourage you to call ahead, make an appointment, and do so. If you do, please relay whatever you uncover--as long as it does not conflict what whatever NDA they have you sign...
Cheers and best regards from Bavaria,
PK sends...
