USA: FiberChem, TNO and Major Beverage Manufacturer Move Cooperative Development to Next Phase

FiberChem, Inc. (OTCBB:FOCS), d/b/a DecisionLink, through its wholly-owned subsidiary FCI Environmental, Inc. (FCI), announced that the agreement to cooperate with TNO, the Dutch research organization, to develop FCI's sensor technology for an application of immediate interest to the food and beverage industry, has moved to the next phase. The project continues to be funded, in part, by a major beverage manufacturer.FCI has been working with TNO Nutrition and Food Research on the development of sensors for a specific contaminant which is of interest to the food and beverage packaging industry at large. These developments could lead to a large new market for FCI's technology.Geoff Hewitt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The results of the work so far indicate that our patented Fiber Optic Sensor technology together with modifications developed by TNO offer the best available solution for the introduction of a commercial product to address this critical application. The ongoing support of the development by one of the world's most admired companies is a key factor in our belief that there could be a world market for new products resulting from the successful completion of this program. The project is now in the pre-prototype phase. Once successfully completed, this is expected to lead to the introduction of products to address this important and large market."Sjaak van Veen of TNO said, "Our work indicated that FCI's technology offered the best starting point to develop a product for this application. Because of the potential of this technology, we have committed additional money and resources to expedite the project."DecisionLink's FCI Environmental division develops, manufactures, markets and licenses fiber optic chemical sensors (FOCS(R)) that produce continuous, real-time information on environmental pollutants and contaminants in a variety of materials including air, water and soil; and food and beverages.