Thresher Seeking More Profit from Composites

Jan. 14, 2008
Open letter outlines plans for market-driven cast alloys
In an “open letter to investors and shareholders,” Thresher Industries CFO Roger Rowell announced the company is restructuring its organization to improve the commercial applications of its metal-matrix composites. The Hanford, CA, company also recruited a Ph.D. to advise its management team, to assist in development advanced metal-matrix composites for cast applications. Dr. Bill Harrigan is described as a respected leader in advanced materials. Also, Thresher has renamed its Talon Composites division the “Thresher Composites Group,” and charged Harrigan to develop “market-driven cast composite alloys.” It states Harrigan will oversee a development and testing program at a “major university’s materials engineering department,” details of which have not been released. The Thresher Composites Group will begin manufacturing material for our customers in the first quarter of 2008. “This new direction in metal-matrix composites allows us greater opportunity than being just a provider of nuclear shielding materials; automotive aftermarket applications as well as electronics, aerospace and defense systems all become target customers for these new materials,” the letter explains. The company adds it expects increased revenues and strong net profit for the division. Last October, Thresher revealed irregular pricing and trading activity in its stock, and acknowledged poor decisionmaking by its corporate management. President and CEO Tom Flessner gave up his role as chairman, and was replaced by Ed Gardner, a Thresher Industries director. In the recent letter to shareholders, Rowell asserts that none of Thresher’s officers have sold any company stock, either issued to them nor that they may have purchased in the open market. “The consensus is that the current price of Thresher stock is outrageously low and undervalued,” Rowell states. “Once the company shows its true worth to the investment community we believe a more realistic value will be achieved.”