HOLIDAY LETTER FROM KRAIG LABS With the holida
Post# of 146
With the holiday season upon us, I’d like to reach out to all of our team members, especially our shareholders, to express my appreciation and great expectations for our production and commercialization in 2022.
Yes, the holidays are just around the corner and we’re heading into 2022 in what is, by far, our strongest financial and fundamental position, so we’re excited about the coming advancements for Kraig Labs and anticipate spider silk’s commercial success in the New Year.
As you know, 2021 presented many new challenges, mostly centered on navigating the COVID-19 regulations, but addressing these with smart solutions has enriched Kraig and Prodigy Textiles, our Vietnamese subsidiary.
For example, after confirming proof of our production concept, we introduced the first automation into Prodigy’s workflow five months ago. This equipment has drastically improved our material handling and has allowed us to grow the size of our silkworm colony without bringing in additional labor. More importantly, this equipment is playing a key role in our quality control system and is the backbone on which we are building out our production capacity. This upgrade to our operations has delivered a sustained quality to our silkworm colony that was previously not attainable.
However, the next phase of this initiative is a game-changer; Prodigy’s fully equipped laboratory is a new onsite capacity that was designed to mirror the capabilities of Kraig’s US R&D headquarters and provide in-process quality and genetic screening.
Partnered with the automated production equipment, the new lab will provide Prodigy with the same world-class genetic screening capabilities that were critical in Kraig’s creation of spider silk transgenics. Once these capabilities are online, we anticipate judiciously scaling output to metric tons.
I believe that the importance of that milestone cannot be overstated, because it positions us to move on to the next chapter of our business model. Fulfilling the years’ long material request backlog which is key to securing additional commercialization agreements. Plus, we plan on working with some inventors and product developers whose imagination may take spider silk to yet unknown frontiers.
Dr. Miller, who completed his Ph.D. and postdoctoral work at Yale, joined Kraig’s R&D team in July. He’s already made significant contributions in advancing the commercialization of the Company’s new lines of nearly pure spider silk and the silkworm immunity enhancement program. Dr. Miller has recharged our R&D team with new energy and expertise. His contributions and ideas have opened the potential for several additional revenue streams reaching far beyond textiles. We’re excited to see what he unveils over the next year.
Of course, most of these breakthroughs were made possible by the $5 million funding that the Company secured through its partnering with a substantial investment bank based in New York. This marks the largest capital investment in the Company’s history. Drawing this type of attention and confidence from sophisticated investors is exciting and reaffirming of our belief in the markets for spider silk and the future of Kraig Labs. As our production operations continue to grow, we are positioned to see additional potential institutional funding in 2022.
Kraig Labs and Prodigy Textiles kindly thank you for your trust and continuing support, because we accomplished so much, together. We hope that you are surrounded by loved ones this holiday season and that, like Kraig, your best days remain ahead.
With warmest holiday greetings and best wishes for the New Year,
Kim Thompson & the entire Kraig Labs’ family