Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Pursuit Dynamics

Since landing a breakthrough contract to supply Coca Cola’s UK branch with its innovative PDX 25 fluid processing technology last year, Royston-based Pursuit Dynamics has landed contract after contract in a range of industries worldwide, demonstrating the quality and diversity that underpins its PDX platform. NEW ENTRY

Pursuit Dynamics

Since landing a breakthrough contract to supply Coca Cola’s UK branch with its innovative PDX 25 fluid processing technology last year, Royston-based Pursuit Dynamics has landed contract after contract in a range of industries worldwide, demonstrating the quality and diversity that underpins its PDX platform.

A new entrant in the Innovation category, Pursuit intends to raise around £8m through a share placing that will be used to fund the next stage of Pursuit’s growth, for working capital and to protect the firm’s IP with a strong balance sheet.

Pursuit will place over five million new shares at 150p each with institutional investors.

Pursuit’s technology platform is applicable to many industry areas including: food & beverages, fire suppression, brewing, marine propulsion, nuclear waste, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, natural resources, healthcare, decontamination, and pulp and paper.

It is based on a gas-driven supersonic shockwave system that produces controllable mixing, heating and flow rates. Pursuit owns 100 per cent of the intellectual property rights.

The firm was incorporated in March 2001 as the holding company for Pursuit Marine Drive Ltd, formed in August 2000 to acquire the IP rights of an innovative marine propulsion system from New Millennium Engineering Pty Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of quoted Australian business Carnegie Corporation. Pursuit was admitted to AIM in May 2001.

During PDX’s development in 2002, Pursuit identified various attributes that made it potentially attractive in a number of process industries.

In 2003 the atomising characteristics of the PDX were discovered.

The markets in these industries are perceived as being much larger, with commercial results expected to be achieved more quickly, than the marine propulsion market.

Since 2002, Pursuit Dynamics has focused on the development of the process industry and atomisation applications of the system.

Since January, Pursuit has licensed the PDX Sonic to a number of leading manufacturers in the food industry, including Campbells Grocery Products, Premier Foods and Geest Foods Limited in the UK, Verstegen Spices & Sauces B.V. in Holland, a major food manufacturer in the US, and its first brewing application to Greene King in May.

During the last year Pursuit has developed a network of six distributors and two agents across Europe and the US for the PDX Sonic.

The distributors have manufacturing and system integrating capabilities and Pursuit intends to extend this distribution network in 2006.

The PDX atomisation technology is being adapted to address the fire suppression and decontamination markets where Pursuit is currently seeking partners for both applications.

The oil and gas industries also present a major market opportunity.

In 2004 the Canadian oil sands production surpassed 1m barrels per day and is expected to more than double by 2015. It is estimated that future investment in oil sands projects could exceed C$60bn (£29m) in addition to the C$20bn (£9.8bn) already invested.

Initial trials have demonstrated the capability of the PDX technology to successfully separate bitumen from oil sands.

Pursuit is also currently using its decontamination technology in a collaboration with DuPont Animal Health Solutions in Sudbury to develop a technology that fires a ’flu-busting chemical at supersonic speeds, killing the virus in its airborne state and also more effectively decontaminating vehicles, buildings and people than is currently possible.