I don't think it is a question of "when" but if. In order to understand that, we have to understand "why". I see two possible reasons why a company would purchase a P2O system from JBI; ROI (business reasons), and PR purposes (being a green company).
The green angle is similar to why a VP of Sustainable development would buy a Nissan Leaf. I stopped by a dealer some time back and test drive one. Nice little car. Needs an overdrive, but nice little car for getting around town. Lots of drawbacks, needs more range and a network of recharging stations.
Now, for a VP of Sustainable Development to have a vehicle like that would be good for Nissan and for the company. Otherwise, it makes no economic sense for the average person. But, it makes a statement. Likewise, a company with a JBI processor would improve it's image.
Now, the reason why most companies buy systems like this is because of an ROI. It is simply not there. I just did a calculation assuming a capital cost of 4%, an initial cost of 2 Million, and cash profits of 15k/ quarter over 3 years. That is the profitability from p2O last quarter. In that scenario, the capital cost is not even paid, and forget about making any money. They need an ROI of over 20% in order to sell for business reasons. That is, take the Capital Cost to build, add to it operating costs over 3 years, and revenues must exceed that by 20%.
They have to be ready to sell as well. They would need a modular unit that is constructible and fully documented. There would have to be a set of engineering plans such that any construction company could build it.
If they sell a processor for PR reasons, I would guess they might get 500k for it. It might be a good way of closing down the Niagara site, which is just costing Heddle money. Move the unit to some company to at last carry the JBI name forward. I believe at that point they would have to carry that amount on the books as well, as the value of P&E is the lesser of market or cost?
