Coda Octopus Reports Multiple Echoscope® Sale to SGTM/STFA Joint Venture
Coda Octopus Group, Inc. (OTC:CDOCD) is pleased to report the sale of multiple Echoscope® units to the SGTM-STFA Joint Venture for their Breakwater Construction Projects. SGTM-STFA are currently developing a new breakwater and port in the Moroccan town of Safi on North Africa’s West Coast. The breakwater project involves the construction of a 3km breakwater using both single layer Accropode IIs and dual layer 10 cubic meter and 22 cubic meter ANTIFER blocks.
Safi Breakwater Construction Site
The breakwater is situated in an exposed coastal area which frequently sees the effects of major Atlantic storms resulting in large currents and waves in the region. This naturally hostile environment, with large waves and low subsea visibility precludes the use of divers or cameras to visualise underwater and places even greater emphasis on the interlocking and correct positioning between each block as it is laid.
Above Water Section of the New Breakwater
SGTM-SFTA originally trialled the Echoscope® in June 2016. The Echoscope® was mounted to a solid frame attached to a crawler crane and was used to visualise the ANTIFER blocks in real-time and in 3D as they are placed. Combined with a unique block-release system designed by SGTM-STFA, the use of the Echoscope® achieved instant productivity and accuracy gains with the set-up. The project team were able to safely work 24 hour shifts, at all sea conditions where working of the cranes and personnel allowed, to achieve a maximum installation rate of 90+ ANTIFER blocks in a 24 hour period. The real-time 3D visualisation provided by the Echoscope® enables the crane operator to ‘see’ the block under the water, enabling accurate and fast placement of the block.
Acoustic Image of an ANTIFER Block being laid in position
Following the initial trial in June 2016, the project team were immediately convinced of the benefits the Echoscope® could offer for this challenging project and quickly moved to install multiple systems on their cranes to support the project. Each system has ensured productivity and accuracy gains can be repeated across the project site. SGTM-STFA now plan to use the Echoscope® on their next breakwater construction project in Nador.
Mert Cirak, Technical Director from SGTM-STFA comments: “The Echoscope® has proved to be of significant value to the project, and has justified the investment cost many times over, enabling day and night operation in any kind of underwater visibility and sea conditions. The very high installation efficiencies were reached with a single crane and Echoscope®, in the past this would have required three different installation teams to achieve the same number of blocks laid in 24 hours. The Coda Octopus Support Team has been exceptional and has given us a lot of confidence in the technology”.
Blair Cunningham, Coda Octopus President of Technology comments: “This project reinforces the Echoscope Solution as the preferred solution for breakwater construction. The ability to see and track the blocks into position and monitor their position post placement is at the heart of the increased productivity gains. Moreover, the Echoscope® solution can be used at both the pre-lay design to post-lay survey and inspection. We are happy that our customers involved in these challenging task can access our revolutionary technology for their projects”.
About Coda Octopus Group, Inc.
Originally founded in 1994 as Coda Technologies, the Coda Octopus Group is now headquartered in Lakeland, Florida.
The Group consists of a Marine Products business located in Lakeland, Florida, Edinburgh, Scotland, Perth, Australia, and Bergen, Norway, and engineering businesses, Coda Octopus Colmek in Salt Lake City, Utah and Coda Octopus Martech in Weymouth, England. Each of the Group companies are technology innovators with a particularly high level of sonar expertise. The Group has facilities in Florida, Utah, the UK, Australia, and Norway.
Alongside providing bespoke engineering and development for defense applications one of the Group's key products is the patented Coda Echoscope® - the first real time 3D sub-sea sonar which is used in oil and gas, underwater construction, search and rescue operations and port and harbor security and constructions. The top end software which runs on the Echoscope® (Underwater Survey Explorer) is also proprietary to Coda Octopus. The Echoscope® is also at the heart of the Underwater Inspection System which is being adopted for port and harbor security, and other applications globally. We have a number of products which are based on our real time 3D technology (Echoscope®, Underwater Inspection System and Dimension® (the latter being a forward looking real time sonar targeted at ROV applications)).
With this patented revolutionizing sub-sea visualization capability, and the existing systems integration skills within Coda Octopus Colmek, Inc. and Coda Octopus Martech Ltd., the Coda Octopus Group believes it can become a world leading integrated sonar technology supplier.
For further information, please visit http://www.codaoctopusgroup.com or contact Coda Octopus at info@codaoctopusgroup.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words such as Coda Octopus Group plans, expects, should, believes, anticipates or words of similar import but all statements other than of historical fact could be deemed forward-looking statements. Stockholders, potential investors and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that are predictions and opinions based only on current information as of the date of this press release that are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause future events or results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by the forward-looking statements. Certain of those risks and uncertainties are discussed in registration statement on Form SB-2 and include, but are not limited to, market acceptance of CodaOctopus’ planned products and their level of sales, access to the capital necessary to finance and grow the business, ahighly competitive environment in the security field that includes numerous large and well established companies much larger than ours, and our ability successfully to deploy our technologies and products to meet the technical demands and market requirements of our customers. These forward-looking statements are only made as of the date of this press release and Coda Octopus Group does not undertake any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Released February 6, 2017