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November 18, 2004
Technology, Industrial Machinery, Services, Capital Goods & Financial

Technology
Scientific Technical Instruments

MFIC Corporation (MFIC-OTC)

“Our biggest customer base is in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. About eighty percent of our sales are to those industries. We have made some progress in the food industry in areas such as soymilk manufacturing and nutraceuticals.  Soymilk producers like our process because it produces a better product in terms of texture and taste, as well as being able to incorporate much more of the soy fiber into the product. That makes a better product as well as doing away with a large waste problem. We think we are going to make some progress there. We are continuing to focus on biotech and pharmaceuticals and to extend our reach further into that area.” - Irwin Gruverman

Industrial Machinery
Oil & Gas

Genoil Inc. (GNO - TSXV)

“There is a shortage of the light oil that you need to make gasoline and an abundance of heavy and that’s our market. We are coming in to provide a solution, to take that heavy oil and make it light; then supply the shortage. In addition to which, the Saudi oil that is coming out is heavy, but they probably have 7 or 8 million barrels a day of light oil that’s coming out of there and if it were disrupted it would be a severe blow to the western economy. That blow could be practically settled by using a technology like ours to convert the heavy oil into light, of those 13 million barrels a day of residual oil. We could then replace the Saudi oil off the residual oil that is presently being used as heavy oil for heating. The heavy oil would have to be replaced by clean burning coal, which we have domestically, or nuclear power. So there is a means of achieving energy independence from the Middle East, through our technology.” - David K. Lifschultz

Services
Business Services

Ventiv Health Inc. (VTIV - NASDAQ)

“We’ve had a very busy year over 2004. It’s been an incredibly strong year, particularly in terms of winning new business. We have won new business worth roughly $160 to $170 million on an annualized basis. We have added 1,600 representatives to our sales and marketing business; indeed a very large amount of new business on top of our base business. This has allowed us to continue to grow strongly in our sales and marketing business. In tandem with that we have also substantially broadened the footprint of the organization in two ways. Organically we’ve added and introduced a number of new offerings to our clients, leveraging existing capabilities of the organization, such as introducing The Therapeutic Institute, Professional Development services, Recruiting services and our Total Data Solutions services, among others. Secondly, we’ve also made two acquisitions that have further broadened the footprint of the organization. In June of this year (2004) we acquired the Franklin Group, a leading player in the compliance arena as well as in patient assistance. Most recently in September (2004) we announced the acquisition of Smith Hanley Corporation, a leading player in the outsourced clinical staffing business and recruiting arena. This gives us a leadership position in that part of the market, late stage clinical, just before commercialization. So, we’ve grown very substantially both from an organic point of view and we’ve further strengthened the organization with a couple of key acquisitions, enabling us to further build out our market leadership position across multiple arenas.” – John Emery, CFO

Capital Goods
Misc. Capital Goods

Met-Pro Corporation (MPR-NYSE)

“As I mentioned earlier Met-Pro’s Divisions and Subsidiaries have hundreds of years of combined experience with a broad and diverse customer base.  We have an organization with outstanding employees and superior products.  Each Met-Pro Division or Subsidiary offers field proven, time tested product or system solutions to meet a customer’s needs on time and on budget.” - Raymond De Hont

Financial
Savings and Loan

Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (GFED-NASDAQ)

“Guaranty Bank has a ninety year history of providing mortgage services to the southwest Missouri area. We are starting with a firm foundation and history and we are refocusing our efforts to regain the position as the top provider of mortgage lending in the area. We have recently added three seasoned professionals from competing organizations to our staff. We have relocated and consolidated our mortgage staff and greatly improved our efficiency.  We have expanded our product line and we can serve just about any need that an individual would have. We have a high service level and do a good reputation for meeting customer’s needs.” - Shaun Burke

 

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November 4, 2004

Healthcare & Technology

Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs

Corgentech Inc. (CGTK – Nasdaq)
 
“Our drug is in the final development stage in two Phase III trials for a single indication of  ‘prevention of vein graft failure’. Our first trial is in leg surgery.  Here the vascular surgeon will use the greater saphenous vein to bypass clogged arteries in the leg, for patients who have leg pain at rest. That trial is fully enrolled with 1,400 patients in over eighty centers in the United States and we expect the results of that trial by the end of this year. The second trial is for cardiovascular arterial bypass graft (CABG) surgery has also completely enrolled all 2400 patients treated in over a hundred centers in the United States.  The data from that trial will be available in the first quarter of 2005. We have Fast Tack designation from the FDA for both indications due to the high unmet medical need, compelling pre-clinical data, excellent safety profile, and no other approved drugs.  This designation could afford Corgentech a shorter, six month, review cycle to approval.” - Richard P. Powers

Technology
Digital Imaging Tools

CompuMed Inc. (CMPD-OTC: BB)

“I believe the market for digital imaging tools is going to grow dramatically in the next few years. Investors already know that filmless x-ray machines are a hot market, in that hospitals are rapidly getting away from film. Any tools that are added to these platforms are going to be natural winners. There is one aspect of our offering that people miss- it’s not the product, the market or the intellectual property that is the hidden jewel in the whole thing- it is the CPT code. Getting a CPT code is a three to five year chore; it is very difficult. We have one dedicated to our technology, and it is a way for the manufacturer to have a better sales tool, and that is going to drive them our way. I feel that is going to become obvious to our investors very soon.” - Jerry McLaughlin

Technology
Software and hardware for on-demand solutions

Concurrent Computer Corporation (NASDAQ: CCUR)

“Customers are coming to us for a variety of reasons. Concurrent has extensive VOD deployment experience. Also, there are many unique requirements in each market, and we have a lot of expertise integrating with those different devices and software capabilities. We also have a unique architecture that we believe is leapfrogging our competition; it allows us to separate streams, storage and content ingest, giving operators the ability to independently scale streams and storage based on their customers’ needs. No one else does that.” - Steven Norton

Technology
Software and programming

Island Pacific (IPI-AMEX)

Island Pacific has a product called IPMS, which is a full merchandising ERP for mid-tier retailers. It is one of the most prominent packages in the retail software sector. We compared the applications or Island Pacific to the applications of Retail Technologies International (RTI), and realized the two combined would result in a full multi-channel offering for the mid-tier retailer. The merger was completed in early June of this year. As one company, we are stronger because we have a complete offering for mid-tier retailers -- from the store to the back office; the merchandising suite and direct sales, and catalog marketing. RTI was a global business with customers in seventy-three countries and products fully translated into fifteen languages. Island Pacific now has a ready-made distribution to deliver its products globally.” - Michael Tomczak

Technology
Contactless Smart Cards

On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTIV - Nasdaq)
OTI America (Subsidiary)
“We are selling solutions that are based on our hardware and software. The hardware consists of contactless cards, readers and the software consists of different applications we provide. We have one of the strongest backgrounds today in terms of the technology. We have a superior technology that is tested and proven with a low risk from the customer prospective and we provide the customer with a complete solution and not just a component.  That eliminates much of the effort from the customer’s side. We have the experience and the intellectual property on how to implement contactless solutions in a real life environment.” - Ohad Bashan

 

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October 21, 2004

Energy, Healthcare, Technology, Services
& Business Services


Energy
Oil and Gas Operations

GeoResources Inc. (GEOI-NASDAQ)

“We produce about thirty thousand barrels of oil a quarter. All of our oil is sold to local crude oil buyers that are located in the Williston Basin, foothills and plains. Because of the demand for oil, it is not hard to find a purchaser. We are not involved in upstream operations or refining. We find and produce the oil and once we have it in tanks, then crude oil buyers pick that up and purchase it from us. In the drilling segment, we contract to other operators or others contract to us for the wells we drill and then drill wells for operators under contract. That is a thirty day invoicing type of procedure much like any other contract business.” - Jeffrey Vickers

Healthcare
Infection-Control Products

ALDA Pharmaceuticals Corp. (APH-TSXV)

“What was attractive to me about ALDA Pharmaceuticals was the fact that it had platform technology called T36®. We have a patent pending on that technology and it is a superior infection control technology. The first product from that technology is called Viralex™. It is a surface disinfectant, which has been on the market for a couple of years now. We are finding the product has an enthusiastic response from the customers, but the company was virtually unknown outside our home province of British Columbia and Canada. Our task there is very straightforward; we have to engage in a very effective sales and marketing effort so that we increase our sales of that product. We are seeking expansion into the United States; we have our EPA registration as pending any day now and that will probably take 120 days to review and if all goes well, we could be fully registered in the United States within the year, in all states. That will bring a very large market potential to us as well. What attracted me to it was the fact that there is a product on the market and we have developed spin-offs from that product. ” - Terrance G. Owen

Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies

Bio-Logic Systems Corp. (ALSC: NASDAQ)
Bio-Logic Systems is in an area where we typically have distinct advantages due to the software and hardware technology that we offer, and we have exclusives in some of our product lines which is very important. We have considerable experience in electro-diagnostics across the board in both hearing and screening diagnostics and neurology and sleep diagnostics. At least two out of three of those areas are growing at a pretty decent rate, and we definitely have more growth potential and a high quality balance sheet that investors are buying into.” - Roderick G. Johnson

Technology
Nanotechnology

Arrowhead Research Corporation (ARWR & ARWRW)

We have over 180 patents and patents pending in the nanotech area, which provides us protection for our products and an opportunity to license other people to use some of our technology. Our plan is to expand our intellectual property base in the near future and to accumulate as much intellectual property as we can. We are primarily working with Caltech at this moment. Caltech is the birthplace of nanotechnology. Back in 1959, Richard Feynman gave his famous speech called, ‘There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom’ and that was the starting point of nanotechnology. Caltech files more patents than any other university in the United States. It is an active place and very prolific in producing intellectual property. We plan to expand our model to additional universities but right now our hands are full.” - R. Bruce Stewart

Technology
Computer Services

Packeteer, Inc. (PKTR: NASD)

“We are a company that is focused on application performance over the wide area network and in giving our customers the ability to both improve and protect the performance of their important applications and control non-business traffic. That is the core of what we do.  We provide distributed enterprises with visibility into what applications are running on their network, and the ability to control them based on their relative business importance. About a year ago, we added compression to create additional virtual bandwidth, all with the goal of allowing companies to leverage faster WANs, faster applications, and faster business.” - Dave Côté

Services
CDK Services Ltd. (CDK-TSX: Venture)

“The Company’s patented Emission Eliminator chemical pump for natural gas wells fills a timely market need and there are very real opportunities to significantly grow the sales of the pump. I also believe that sales of the chemical pump are all upside since the current market value of the company is supported by the existing businesses, which are valve and BOP Sales and Service.” - Wayne Thomson

Business Services
Computer Software and Processing

CSM Systems Corp. (CKX-TSXV)

“We believe that the digital world is going to explode. Previously some of the hardware costs have been such where it has been economically unfeasible for companies and governments to start looking at this kind of technology. In the last year alone the prices have fallen about 400% as demand grows. We believe that this type of technology is going to replace what we typically see in retail environments. For example, it is going to be more pervasive. We live in an information age and traditionally it has been based on capital television technology. With the digital displays, it opens the door for a whole realm of possibilities. That is what I think is exciting and enticing about the investment end of things. We are poised to capitalize on it because we have the background in the software end of things.” - John Putters

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October 7, 2004

Consumer Products, Consumer/Cyclical, Basic Materials, Entertainment
, Financial & Capital Goods

Consumer Products
Tobacco

Wellstone Filters, Inc. (WLSF – OTC: BB)
We firmly believe that the cigarette market is going to be a commodity market; unlike it has been in the last forty years, where people were very brand loyal. We feel that we can make a return on investment even though we are offering a premium cigarette at a discount price. People will buy our cigarette for the price and they will come back because of the taste.” - Learned J. Hand

Consumer/Cyclical
Personal, Household products

Female Health Company (FHCO-OTC-BB)

“Unfortunately, the HIV/ AIDS issue is getting worse and it isn’t going to go away.  There are drugs that help people live longer but there is no simple treatment or cure. There is no preventative vaccine and some scientists think that if there ever is one, it will be years away. We have one of only two products that help to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, the female and the male condom, and ours is proprietary. We have a business model that is low risk in that we do not invest in advertising in hope that somebody will buy our product, or manufacture product in the hopes that we can sell it. Beyond the break-even level, we should have a solid and profitable business. However, we expect significant period to period variations, but substantial growth in the long term.” Mr. O. B. Parrish

Basic Materials
Gold

Goldcorp Inc. (GG-NYSE, G-TSX)

“We have a very exciting expansion program going on at our Red Lake Mine, which will take a little more than six months. By the second half of 2006, we will have completed an elevator shaft that will be down 7,200 ft. below surface. It will allow us to increase our production at our Red Lake Mine from 500,000 ounces a year to 700,000 ounces and allow us to drop our cost of production below seventy dollars an ounce. It has a lot of extra capacity built into it. We are excited about that new platform because it will allow us to accelerate our new exploration.” - Robert McEwen

Entertainment
Feature Film and Television Production

OBN Holdings, Inc. (OBNH.OB)

“In July we recently completed producing a television special called ‘From the Heart,” which is a 50th year anniversary and celebration of the Four Tops singing group. Eclectic Entertainment is producing the concert and the television special. In addition to the television special, which is going to premiere on Omni Broadcasting Network, we are will be offering it to other networks that have already expressed an interest in the special. We will also be selling it to television broadcasters in foreign markets, which we already have interest from to acquire the rights to that particular show. In addition to that, we will be producing a DVD and a CD that we are going to be releasing on Retro Records, another OBN Holdings subsidiary.” - Roger Neal Smith

Financial
Community Banks

Commonwealth National Bank (CWEA-OTCBB)

“We hired highly experienced employees right from the beginning. We do not have people who cannot make decisions. I have been in lending for thirty years and when someone comes in for a loan, it does not take me very long to make a decision in terms of whether or not we want to begin a relationship. In terms of the branches, they are empowered to make a decision. If they need flexibility on an account, CD rate or whatever, they have the authority to make the decision. It is not as if they have to go up two or three levels of command to try and figure out whether they can take care of a particular customer’s needs. I think what we have is a long-term commitment to grow and develop relationships. We are willing to be flexible in the short run, if we think that in the long term, it will benefit us and the customer.” - Charles R. Valade

Financial
Consumer Financial Services

Silverado Financial Inc. (SLVO-OB)

“For us at this point, all of our loans are straight broker and they are sold off to investors, therefore we have no risk on repayment of those loans. As a direct lender, we have some risk but it will only be the first payment risk and through the sure step program on which we are working. We will not have any risk repurchase on those loans, which is the biggest risk for a direct lender in this business.” - John Hartman

Capital Goods
Construction Materials

Structures USA, Inc.
“In the past six months we have moved into a full-scale factory type industrial park and we are continuing on with code approvals for four different products. One is the GigaCrete, which is the building system, anther is called Stuccomax, which is a bullet-proof single-coat, one-application stucco, which has never been done before; we have literally made history with it. It is applied very quickly and dries within a few hours. The installer can then move on to the next, which typically they can’t do; they have to come back two to four times to re-coat the house. The essence behind the whole business program is to build safer and faster with a superior product and then extend that from the building side to the actual finishing that goes on in the structures. Our goal is to go after mass affordable housing on a global basis, not just here in the U.S.” - Andrew Dennis

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September 23, 2004

Services
, Energy & Technology

Services
Service Retail

HearUSA, Inc. (AMEX: EAR)
“This is very exciting for us because the administration wants to increase Medicare Managed Care membership by 9 million people bringing the total to 13 million by January 1, 2007. Of the 4.5 million current Medicare Managed Care Members, we have capitation contracts covering 600,000. This represents one third of the members with a hearing aid benefit. Maintaining our percentage (13%) of the new members will generate significant revenue for the company.” - Paul A. Brown, M.D.

Energy
Specialty Chemicals, Hydrocarbon Fluids and Energy Marketing

Enerchem International Inc. (ECH-TSX)

“Enerchem is an oilfield services company providing specialty chemical and hydrocarbon fluid solutions to the oil and gas industry. There are three internal groups inside of Enerchem. The Specialty Chemicals Group manufactures proprietary chemical products. There is the Hydrocarbons Fluids Group, which manufactures drilling fluid, fracturing fluids and specialty solvents and we have the Energy Marketing Group, which was created to reduce feedstock costs, improve byproduct resale margins and to develop a crude oil lease acquisition market.” - Douglas F. Robinson

Services
Communications Services

Q Comm International Inc. (QMM - AMEX)

“The big benefit of our product is that the retail merchant doesn’t have to stock what were called ‘prepaid hard cards’; these were cards that had actual value to them in dollars, $20.00, $30.00, $50.00. Those cards historically have been subject to theft by customers and even employees. They also represented a large inventory carrying cost for the merchant. With our electronic distributions solution we are able to take our terminal, put it in a retail store, have that connect to a data center that we run and allow the whole sales process to be done electronically. Once that merchant sells the product, after the fact we debit their bank account and only after the fact does that happen.” - Terry Kramer

Technology
Communications Equipment

Weida Communications, Inc. (WDAC-OTC: BB)
“Our biggest differentiator is that we are in a niche of which no one else is paying attention. We are the first ones in, the first ones in this category. It is a category, which has been greatly affected by the Chinese government and certain mandates of financial institutions, the Hazardous Recovery programs in-place. Right now, to the best of my knowledge, we are the only ones participating in that with a proven capability that’s already been approved by China Telecom, because it’s a strategic alliance with them to take over their major accounts. We are in a unique position.” - Mitchell Sepaniak

Technology
Computer Services

WindsorTech Inc. (WSRT-OTC: BB)
“Anyone out there that doesn’t think about identity theft, security and environmental compliance for their IT for their computer equipment is really just fooling themselves because these are growing responsibilities. Our mission is to continue to educate businesses, institutions and consumers on how to handle these assets appropriately. ” - Marc Sherman



September 9, 2004

Basic Materials
, Technology, Natural Resources & Healthcare

Basic Materials
Reclaimed Industrial Products

International Absorbents Inc. (IAX-AMEX)

“Animal bedding is broken into the two areas of pet market and big boxes/ generic food market. We attacked the pet market first and sell through Petco, Pet Smart; virtually every pet-chain in North America. There is about an eighty million-dollar market for our product in this market segment. We are selling 15-20% of that at this point and over half of that market segment is held by hundreds of manufacturers of wood shavings and similar kinds of products. The other segment of the animal bedding market is big boxes like Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target and regular local grocery stores. We are just entering that market with Wal-Mart and introducing a product called Critter Care. You can buy CareFRESH at pet stores or you can buy Critter Care or HealthyPet at other big stores. That is another eighty million dollar market and you are talking about 160 to 200 million dollar market place for animal bedding in North America.” - Gordon Ellis

Technology
Mobile Satellite

C-COM Satellite Systems, Inc. (CMI-TSXV)

‘The company has a potential upside because this technology is going to be pervasive everywhere, not just in North America, but you will see it all over the world. You will see it practically everywhere where one can have access to either by a vehicle or by rail or even on foot as many of our products can be flown in and dropped off in more and more places. Internet access has become an essential business tool around the world to many people and C-COM is making it possible for companies to conduct business and stay connected anywhere in the world. C-COM, being one of the first to actually deliver this new technology is going to benefit dramatically both from the knowledge that we have acquired and accumulated from 7 years of research and development and from our expertise and ability to design, manufacture, sell and support this product all over the world. There is nobody that can do this on the scale that we are doing it today. The upside is enormous. ” - Leslie Klein, Ph.D.,P.Eng

Technology
Electronic INST. & Controls

NCT Group, Inc. (NCTI-OTC)

“Right now we are focused on communications, specifically through our Artera subsidiary. Artera is the developer of proprietary Internet accelerations and optimization technologies for residential users, small businesses, enterprises, government agencies and service providers. As a “Virtual Bandwidth” solution, Artera Turbo™ routinely achieves speeds equivalent to broadband over standard dial-up (56 Kbs) connections and wireless mobile telephones, a 5X speed improvement. Performance improvements by up to a factor of five are also achieved over ISDN, DSL, T1/E1, cable and even satellite links. When we apply Artera Turbo to broadband networks we reduce bandwidth consumption by 70%-85%, yielding significantly increased network capacity with virtually no capital expenditure. This is very compelling for business networks because the optimization techniques we employ are equally effective for both Internet and private Intranet traffic. Also, for ISPs, Artera technology can be applied simultaneously to the network and used by subscribers which significantly impacts EBITDA per subscriber. This is a very exciting area for our company, and we expect some pretty significant growth in this subsidiary.” - Michael J. Parrella

Natural Resources
Exploration

Serengeti Resources Inc. (SIR-TSXV)

“We needed to differentiate ourselves. I looked around and there are many gold explorers. I think there are fewer copper and gold explorers. Exploration is my strong suit, given my background of thirty years experience. Some of the other people that have come along with me to Serengeti have equally strong and successful backgrounds on the exploration and development front, like George Tikkanen, who has also joined the board of Serengeti. George has over forty years of experience in the mining and exploration business. The key geological consultant that I have working with me, and a partner in the early stage properties, is an expert on copper and gold exploration. Why Serengeti? It is because of the people, our track record of discovery, the strategic focus and a growing portfolio of attractive properties. These factors should heighten the potential for success.” - David Moore

Healthcare
Healthcare Facilities

Assisted Living Concepts Inc. (ASLC-OTC: BB)

“We are now seeing the state and federal governments seeing assisted living as a viable choice, not only in life enrichment, but also from a financial rearranging of the money. ” - Steven Vick


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August 26, 2004

Financial Estate
, Financial, Technology, Healthcare, Energy & Mining

Financial Estate
Hotel Management

InnSuites Hospitality Trust (IHT-AMEX)

“We were bloodied up by 9/11 as was the case with many hotels in the hotel industry. We were recovering and then a year ago the Iraq war set us back again. Since October 2003, we have been on a very solid up trend as far as revenues and profitability. Some of the factors that worked against us previously are now working for us. For example, in our industry occupancy is key. After 9/11, in order to maintain our occupancy we had to dramatically lower our rates and that was a double negative in terms of our profitability. Now, after October of 2003, our occupancy has gone up and we have been able to raise our rates. Our occupancies continue to go up as a result of a double benefit is coming toward us. As an example of that, in the first quarter our operating profits were up 28.9% and revenue went up 12.6%. This shows the leverage working in our favor as opposed to what was happening in the three years that it was working against us.” - James Wirth

Financial
Regional Banks

Eastern Virginia Bankshares Inc. (EVBS-NASD)
“Our focus during the last few years has centered around finding ways to take advantage of economies of scale. We have invested in our company to ensure that our operations and technology center are in a state of preparedness in terms of    infrastructure and technology to support de novo branching growth opportunities. We will continue to open branches in markets where we see a need for a community bank. We have the infrastructure built to facilitate bringing small banks into our organization, handling their back room operations, and allowing them to retain their local identity. De novo branching is a major initiative in our strategic plan, as we see this is our primary growth vehicle.” - Joe Shearin

Technology
Semiconductors

AMIS Holdings Inc. (AMIS-NASD)

“Our factories are more flexible than you will find in a typical large company in the analog and mixed-signal space. That flexibility requires a competency that is not prevalent in terms of manufacturing in our industry. I think we are unique in that regard and our customers appreciate that. Because we sell into markets such as medical, industrial and automotive, our product life cycles are long and our customers want to have long-term support from us. A standard products company may not be tolerant of that and particularly of being flexible at the same time. That is what we believe is a key value proposition for AMI and something that our customers appreciate.” - David Henry

Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs

Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. (BASI: NASD)

“We have a good patent portfolio on our products. We have a lot of innovative work to do, and probably the number one thing for investors to consider is the quality of clients we have. We do provide products and services to virtually all of the top 25 pharmaceutical companies globally and we are very proud of that.” - Peter Kissinger

Energy
Gas and Oil Exploration

Consolidated Energy Inc. (CEIW-OTC)

“If investors look at the energy market, they will quickly see that there is a short and quite possibly, a long-term opportunity for success related to natural gas and coal. Investors can look at the natural gas market over the last several years and see that the natural gas market is strong and will continue to be strong for quite some time. Both of these fuels are going to be stable financial contributors for Consolidated Energy Inc. The licensing of our Clean Coal technology, if you look at the amount of coal that is used globally, and the amount of coal that is in need of a clean coal process, can contribute a staggering amount to the company’s profitability.  When CEI is able to license the use of the clean coal technology on a small percentage of the billions upon billions of tons of low rank coal used annually, CEI will realize a substantial annual profit contribution.” - David Guthrie

Mining
Diamonds and Precious Metals

Sudbury Contact Mines Ltd. (SUD-TSX)

As a result of the expansion of the property position, we have a lot of work to do up there and we are currently reviewing the plans for this work. Not only do we have to do further assessments of our two most recent diamond discoveries, but we also have to do target identification work on the additional claims that we have staked as well as drill several promising targets that were identified in earlier work. To date we have only drilled about a third of our high priority targets and that work discovered the two most recent diamond bearing structures.4 There are still many targets, which need to be drilled in this area. We are excited about the fact that we are now identifying multiple diamond-bearing structures in an area that is not remote and is very close to infrastructure.” - Sean Boyd

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August 12, 2004

Energy
, Healthcare, Mining & Technology

Energy
Oil/Gas Exploration

Aspen Exploration Corporation (ASPN-OTC: BB)
“I believe we’ve drilled 17 gas wells out of 20 attempts over the last 3½ years. That is an 85% success rate, so we have no trouble finding partners and as a matter of fact, I have a waiting list of people who would like to get into some of our wells.” - Bob Cohan

Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies

Cambridge Heart Inc. (CAMH-NASD)
“We are immersed with the medical community, the ICD companies and Medicare regarding the role that Microvolt T-Wave Alternans can play in a large population of people in helping to identify people that are at-risk of sudden death and need to be treated, from those who do not require invasive therapy.  In the process of doing what the technology was created for, we set ourselves up in a situation where we can be testing hundreds of thousands if not millions of people a year. Our test costs Medicare about $338.00. The test costs the physician about eighty dollars in disposable products, namely the Microvolt T-Wave Alternans sensors. If you do the math, you can quickly come to the conclusion that in a short time, we can be a very attractive company financially while doing something that is good for the public health as well.” - David Chazanovitz

Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs

Vical Incorporated (VICL - NASD)
“We are a product development company that is exclusively focused on developing vaccines for infectious disease and cancer and all of our products are based on our patented DNA technology, which is known as Plasmid DNA Technology. This technology actually does not require handling of the pathogen itself but you actually use just the gene sequences from the pathogen to invoke an immune response. Our focus is vaccines in infectious disease and cancer and we are one of the few vaccine companies in the United States today. We are a company that is dedicated to discovering and developing new vaccines where no vaccines exist and doing it all with a brand new technology which is going to create a paradigm shift in the entire vaccine business.” - Vijay B. Samant

Mining
Gold Exploration

Unigold Inc. (UGD-TSX: Venture)

“The next step for us on our Dominican Republic properties will be to use a combination of exploration techniques to evaluate the known gold mineralization and large hydrothermally altered zones on our Neita property. We have about twenty anomalous areas that require work. On these, we will be doing everything from regional geology to soil geochemistry to trenching and hopefully finishing up with drilling. At the Los Candelones Gold Deposit on which we are focusing, we will also conduct an integrated exploration program but weighted towards drilling to continue to evaluate this mineralized area. We are probably looking at another year of drilling on Los Candelones to fully understand and to start to develop the resource. All indications are that it could be significant.” - John P. Thompson, M. Sc., P. Eng.

Mining
Gold, Copper and Nickel Exploration

Virginia Gold Mines Inc. (VIA – Toronto)

“We already have close to a half a million ounces of gold in resource and a huge potential to add to that resource. The fact that we have lots of partners spending millions on our properties, which means that we are sharing the risk in exploration with other companies, helps us to reduce the risk in exploration. For example our budget this year is $9.2 million, so that makes us the most active explorer in Quebec. Of that $9.2 million, Virginia’s contribution, our cost, will be $2.8 million, so you can see that we have a beautiful leverage. The rest will be financed by partners and by the Quebec government through incentive programs.” - Andre Gaumond

Technology
Computer Services

CGI Holding Corporation (CGIH-OB)
“WebSourced, Inc. is a leader in its space called Search Engine Optimization. It assists client’s websites in achieving a top ten ranking when searches are performed on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and so forth. Research shows that the majority of people are not willing to look past the first page of results and 98 - 99% of people are not willing to look past the third page of results. So WebSourced helps clients redesign, link and do all the things that need to be done in terms of a website that make it appeal to the search engines and therefore show up in the top ten of search engine results. ” - Gerard Jacobs


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July 29, 2004

Technology, Healthcare & Financial

Technology
Semiconductors

Staktek Holdings Inc. (STAK-NASD)
“We look at our company as the leading supplier of intellectual property and services for miniaturizing memory components. We want to continue our leadership position in this area and, at the same time, expand our products and intellectual property for miniaturizing other widely used components including the complete system. For example, modules: the module market is diverse and large, and we think there are opportunities certainly in aerospace but also in automotive, medical, and commercial modules where our stacking technology could be deployed.” - James Cady

Technology
Entertainment Media

IA Global, Inc. (IAO-AMEX)
“The reason we acquired the core technology from QuikCAT, was so that we could get more access to the larger American market and also the technology could then be deployed worldwide. We have only just completed the acquisition of the core technology so we are still developing our network and we are working with some partners on a worldwide basis to expand the reach of the QuikCAT technology. We do not want it to be just in one area of the world.” - Alan Margerion

Healthcare
Biotechnology and Drugs

Exact Sciences Corporation (EXAS-NASD)
PreGen-Plus is a test for the early detection of colon cancer and it uses a stool sample from a patient. We isolate human DNA from the stool sample and look for specific mutations and markers that have been associated with colon cancer; if the test is positive, the physician refers the patient to a colonoscopy. If the specimen is negative, the patient should be screened on a regular basis for the rest of his or her life; you usually start screening for colon cancer at age fifty and above. Because it is a DNA based test, it is much different than the other tests that have been historically used for colon cancer screening, which are normally blood tests that are indirect measures for cancer. We are looking for changes in the DNA that are indicative of cancer.” - Don Hardison

Financial
Bank

Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc. (WFSG-NASD)
“In April (2004), the Company sold its specialty servicing subsidiary to Merrill Lynch.  That was a $50 million deal, which closed on the April 30, 2004. This means that the Company has one main operating subsidiary, First Bank of Beverly Hills. Because of that, we are going to propose a name change for the holding company so it more closely links to the Bank; The name change will be Beverly Hills Bancorp, a unitary holding company, and a $1.2 billion bank as its major operating subsidiary.” - Joseph W. Kiley III

Financial
Regional Banks

The Wilber Corporation (GIW-AMEX)

“We continue to look at expanding our physical base. In March, we converted a loan production office in Binghamton New York to a full service branch and in April, we opened another loan production office in Kingston New York, which is about 100 miles to the east. We like the model of the loan production office where we can find a good quality lender that is familiar with a particular market, hire him or her and see if we can bring our brand of banking into that market. If we are as successful as we were in the Binghamton area, then we will expand into a full-service office. It is a conservative way to grow because it doesn’t’ cost very much to open a loan production office. If it isn’t successful, although we haven’t had one that hasn’t been, you can shut it down and move on. If you are successful, you move on and create a larger presence. At the same time we have been doing that, we have been active in purchasing branches.” - Alfred S. Whittet

Financial
Regional Banks

Capital Bank Corporation (North Carolina) (CBKN-NSDQ)
“I think we have one of the best franchises in the Southeast. We have excellent bankers in our markets, and they’re all taking care of customers… We have a management team that is diverse in talent and is strongly committed to the long term success of the bank and to a good return for our shareholders.” - B. Grant Yarber

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July 15, 2004

Consumer Cyclical, Basic Materials
, Mining & Financial

Consumer Cyclical
Recreational Products

Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. (RUS-NYSE)

“I am very enthusiastic about the potential for this business and I don’t see much in the way of meaningful barriers. I believe that when you operate in a business that is as fragmented as this one is, and there aren’t any major competitors that own more than two or three percent share of the market, at a most fundamental level, the ability to arrive and compete effectively in that kind of a marketplace is very appealing.” - Andrew R. Gatto

Basic Materials
Gold and Silver

Canyon Resources Corp. (CAU-AMEX)

“We are operating a mine in the desert of South Eastern California, and we own 13.7 million ounces of gold in three deposits in Montana, which represents a sizeable asset base for Canyon. We are hoping to be able to bring these projects forward into mine development.” - Richard H. De Voto

Mining
Exploration-zinc, gold and copper

Karmin Exploration Inc. (KAR-TSXV)

“We have the largest unexploited zinc deposit in Brazil, I think it is the second or third in South America. Aripuanã is in the province of Mato Grosso, in central Brazil. We have a new partner, Votorantim, who own the two zinc smelters in the country, and they are looking to develop this mine as a source for this smelter. Base metal mines make a concentrate that is sold to smelters and the smelters main market is the huge Brazilian automotive industry. The Aripuanã project is 24 million tons and it contains zinc, silver, gold and copper.” - William Fisher

Financial
Regional Banks

Gateway Financial Holdings Inc. (GBTS-NASD)

“I think the thing you will see is that our bankers are willing to meet with our customers on holidays, weekends, nights, or early in the morning to have breakfast. They will do whatever is necessary to accommodate the customers’ needs. They will go above and beyond and interact with them socially to help accomplish various things in the community. We have been supportive of a number of community activities; everything from the little theatres to various public events and fireworks for the Fourth of July, and just supporting things in the community to give people a better sense of community.” - D. Ben Berry

Financial
Regional Banks

KNBT Bancorp, Inc. (KNBT-NASD)

World class community banking is about listening to the customer and trying to deliver on a better level of customer service. It is about delivering on a better level of technology and ultimately, meeting our customers needs through a wider-span, super community bank. We know that we are not there yet, but our vision is set high and our mission is to achieve it.  That is our goal.” - Scott Fainor

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July 1, 2004

Financial, Technology, Capital Goods, Healthcare & Mining

Finance
Misc. Financial Services

CVF Technologies Corp. (CNV- AMEX)
“The common thread among the companies we chose to invest in is principally environmental and principally early stage when we first get involved with them. We have incubated these companies from the level of an idea in the inventor’s mind, to an actual company that we helped create and develop. Typically there is an environmental thread, so we have companies with air pollution controls and electric vehicle technology. Anything that has to do with the environment is what we typically invest in. We have also invested in some information technology companies where there is a socially interesting aspect to them.” - Jeffrey Dreben

Technology
Computer Networks

Castelle Inc. (CSTL-NASD)

“If you look back at the last two years, the company was trading at 45 cents a share and we have been consistently above three dollars a share in six to nine months, so there has been a significant turnaround in the valuation and exposure of the company. You do not find too many small, medium or large companies that have no debt and have cash. We are generating a profit and we are growing. As I stated before, with FaxPress and our new product, FaxPress Premier, we have an opportunity to grow in this worldwide network fax server market. I think that is a nice opportunity or investment play for someone. We have the ability, we know what we are doing and our mission is to grow in that marketplace. We have experienced two years of growth and it remains to be seen if we will be able to continue, but I think that we will have a good shot at continuing to grow in the network fax server marketplace.” - Scott McDonald

Capital Goods
Aerospace and Defense

Allied Defense Group, Inc. (ADG-AMEX)

“People choose Allied because of our strengths and our potential.  For example, we have a very good diversified business model. We have a military and commercial customer base, operate in high growth markets, have proprietary products and intellectual properties, and we have the ability to design and engineer to meet the distinct needs of each customer. These qualities and abilities extend to all six of our subsidiaries and really separate us from other competitors. ” - John G. Meyer, Jr., Major General (Retired)

Healthcare
Biotechnology

Oragenics, Inc. (ONI-NASD)

Bacteria in your mouth form cavities and there are 300 bacteria in your mouth and one of them is called Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans), it converts sugar into acid, and the acid eats away at the enamel on your teeth and exposes the soft tissue dentin and allows cavities to form. We have a genetically modified S. mutans bacteria that is identical in all respects except for the fact that it is missing the gene that produces acid. It doesn’t produce any acid but it still resides in the same niche in the oral flora. It is going to be one simple application; you go to the dentist office, the dentist will clean your teeth, put a solution in your mouth that you hold in your mouth for a few minutes and that will allow the bacteria to begin to colonize and replace the bacteria that you have in your mouth; it doesn’t affect any other bacteria, only the Streptococcus mutans. Within six months, you should be cavity-free.” - Mento “Chuck” Soponis

Mining
Gold and Silver Exploration

Argentex Mining Corporation (AGXM-OTC)

“Argentex is a junior mining exploration firm with significant holdings in the emerging gold areas of Somuncura Massif and Deseado Massif regions of Argentina. The company has near-term exploration projects, based on existing gold discovery on one of its properties, with longer-term potential to become the exploration leader in the region based on proximity of the holdings to known gold reserves and mineralization.” - Chris Dyakowski

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June 17, 2004

Natural Resources, Services, Financial, Healthcare &Technology

Natural Resources
Mining-Halloysite

Atlas Mining Company (ALMI-OTC)

“Even though Atlas Mining is a small company, we are looking at getting our halloysite clay property into production this year, but we are not going to stop with just that, we are going to move forward and take on other properties and projects. We will continue to grow.” - William Jacobson

Technology
Online Video Rental

GameZnFlix, Inc. (GZFX – OTC: BB)

“The first series of commercials is targeted at the thirty to forty-year-old moms with one or two children. In my opinion it is the women who suffer from “mom can we stop at Blockbuster and get a videogame.”  I believe that stay-at-home moms are by far the most hard-working, underpaid people in the world; they put more hours in than any person that goes out to work. There are those nice single moms who run their home and go to work at the same time and God bless them all for that. I have more respect for a working mom than anyone on the face of the earth. If she is a working mom with several children maybe, then this is just one more source of aggravation. Our commercial with Dennis Cole is directed at that mom, trying to make her life a little bit easier and that is our first market. - John Fleming

Services
Real Estate Operations

United Dominion Realty Trust Inc. (UDR-NYSE)

I think real estate is a very secure, safe investment particularly apartments since one out of every three people in America live in some type of rental property. It does not go out of style and it is not replaced by technology; it is a safe way to invest. We operate in one segment that is probably the most predictable and safest of all real estate investments and that is apartments. We focus even further in the middle market, which is a segment of the business. Third, we are focused on operations as our value added. We are not a builder, which is fun and exciting but risky. We are focused on buying existing communities and running them better than the ones before; we believe that through our systems and our people that we can do that and we have a track record of doing that.” - Thomas Toomey

Services
School Industry

Touchstone Applied Science Associates, Inc. (TASA – OTC)
“In the first quarter of the year, we had a big increase in revenues…. On the proprietary side, we shipped our English proficiency assessments to the states of Arkansas, Missouri and Rhode Island…. On the custom testing side, we had a big order backlog from last year. Now we are getting multi-year contracts. Going into this year, we had a backlog of business that equated to all of last year’s business. We anticipate increases throughout the year….” - Andrew Simon

Services
Sports Recreation

Bentley Sports, Inc. (BESR - OTC/Pinksheets)
“The major advancements in technology have helped us apply the benefits of technology in body motion systems to a consumer based product in the sporting world. This has never been done before. The motion analysis technology of the past has been for the biomechanical labs, in other words, very complex and expensive equipment built specifically for the medical field. Our company took these technologies and with our outstanding team of specialists, programmers and designers have taken what we needed from these technologies and made them specific to the sport of choice. We have taken a very complex system and made it user friendly so that a PGA professional or snow sport instructor can use it with minimal difficulty and concentrate on working with his student using an objective learning programs.” - Michael Bentley

Financial
Regional Banks

Carolina Bank Holdings, Inc. (CLBH-NASD)

“We are performing at or above peer group level in earnings, growth, and the quality of our loan portfolio is much better than our peers, both regionally and nationally, save a few exceptions. We are clearly in the top one or two percent and as long as we are performing at that level, we feel that we have no need to sell out because we are achieving our goals. As I mentioned earlier, with the 91% increase in revenue last year, up 50% in the first quarter, very few banks are going to be able to achieve those consistent results, and that is our goal to do so. I cannot promise or give guidance that it will increase our earnings 50% this year, but they are going to be up noticeably over the last. That takes the pressure off in trying to sell out. We also know that our balance sheet is very asset sensitive. By that I mean that as interest rates increase, our income will increase relatively rapidly for about twelve to fifteen months until the pricing on our deposits catch up. By that very function, our level of income will go up materially faster and more than many of our peers who are not as asset sensitive as we are. That has been our strategy that we think is in our best interest. ” - Robert T. Braswell

Healthcare
Biotech and Drugs

Symbollon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SYMBA-OTC)

There are other companies that are initiating programs for compounds to treat fibrocystic breast disease; however, Symbollon is certainly in the lead and has been out in the forefront in developing IoGen™. Fibrocystic breast disease certainly represents an unmet market need, and I believe that when the proper pharmaceutical is delivered to the marketplace, people will begin to realize how many women are in need of treatment.” - - Paul Desjourdy
 
Technology
Computer Services

SumTotal Systems Inc. (SUMT-NASD)

“We’ve set ourselves apart from competitors with two times the revenue of the nearest one, three times the customer base, two or three times the R&D and support staffs of other companies and we operate globally.  We are now playing in almost, if not all, the major projects around the globe. ” - R. Andrew Eckert

Technologies
Electronics Instruction & Controls

RF Monolithics, Inc. (RFMI-NASD)

“There is very strong growth right now out of the communications product group, especially the filters, which has been driven by satellite radio growth. We’ve designed in filters for both satellite service providers.   The satellite radio subscriber rate is growing very strongly. That is probably our strongest growth followed very closely by the Virtual Wire® product family, which is driven by the automated meter reading market. These are the strong drivers at this particular time.” - David M. Kirk



June 3, 2004

Financial, Technology, Natural Resources & Capital Goods

Financial
Regional Banks

Community Bankshares Inc. (SCB-AMEX)

“We try to synthesize the advantage of size and keep the character of local community banking alive and well through a multi-bank holding company business model. We have four banks and a mortgage company, each with their own officers and their own directors. At the corporate level, we provide general guidance but mostly we provide technical services, such as data processing, item processing, internal auditing, compliance and shareholder services. We take care of the banks so that the banks can take care of the local customers. It has worked well for us and it gives us a much better marketing strategy than our larger competitors because our customers want a direct personal connection to their local bank and banker. Our other big advantage is that we have some tremendous talent on our individual bank boards, which would be hard to come by if we were simply a standalone community bank.” - William Traynham

Technology
Machining

AmeriChip International Inc. (ACHI.OB)
“Our market potential just in automotive, even though we affect aircraft and heavy equipment like tractor building, is 250 million. The part of the market that we decided to go after was automotive, and if I just laser the parts for other people and let them make the parts our market potential would be $250 million annually. If I manufacture the parts and deliver the parts as a low-cost producer, then my market potential is over a billion dollars a year just in automotive and just in North America. Then there is the European market, where we currently have consultants for a company that we can purchase.” - Marc Walther

Technology
Telematics

AirIQ Inc. (IQ-Toronto)

“There are several factors that make this the right time to go after the consumer Telematics market. First, there is a growing recognition, which I will call, security in all forms, whether that is driven by 9/11 or otherwise, there is an increased consciousness for security. Secondly, the underlying technology components of our systems are now at a point where the consumer economics work. Several years ago a trucking company might have been able to afford a device that cost twelve hundred dollars, but a consumer wouldn’t. Thirdly, I think there is a general appreciation for this type of technology. There is a consumer awareness of the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is our location technology, and what it can do. There is a confidence, trust and awareness that this type of technology can now be applied to consumer vehicles.” - Donald E. Simmonds

Capital Goods
Construction

Wireless Facilities Inc. (WFII-NASD)
“With our technical expertise and strong customer relationship we believe we are uniquely positioned as the largest pure-play RF engineering company in the U.S. and maybe in the world to take advantage of this wireless industry growth curve that we believe we are on.” - Eric M. DeMarco

Financial
Regional Banks

Interchange Financial Services Corporation (IFCJ-NASD)

“The key to conducting our business is to bring the customer the Interchange experience, which I define as efficient, friendly, courteous service. We have practiced those principles since day one and I have drilled it into everyone. I continually reinforce our differentiators and that is what separates us from everybody else.” - Anthony S. Abbate



May 20, 2004

Consumer, Consumer Non-Cyclical, Healthcare, Financial & Technology

Consumer
Personal Care Services

Medical Makeover Corporation of America (MMAM-OTC: BB)

“Our vision is to capitalize upon the industry and the demographics, to build a comprehensive approach to helping people improve their appearance. This comprehensive approach includes plastic surgery, cosmetic dermatology, cosmetic dentistry as well as hair makeup and fashion advice so that you can create a new physical appearance for yourself. Our strategy is to form comprehensive teams; we are Beta testing this in the South Florida marketplace and as we develop our brand, we will extend this nationally.” - Walter E. Birch

Healthcare
Orthodontics

TC Orthodontic Lab (Privately held)

“The Truax Correctors are removable functional/orthopedic appliances. The TC II appliance will correct large overjets, overbites and TMD. The TC III appliances will correct large underbites (Class III malocclusion). Surgery is seldom necessary.” - Lloyd H. Truax, DDS, MSD

Consumer Non-Cyclical
Personal and Household Products

Imagenetix Inc. (IAGX.OB)
“There are multiple reasons why we conduct first class clinical studies. One, scientific credibility; One can always get testimonials on any type of compound or product, particularly in the natural arena. If you subject your product to a well designed, double blinded placebo study your product has specifically validated health benefits. These type of studies Imagenetix conducts are the gold standard clinical and medical type, again which are double blind, placebo controlled and conducted in a top university setting, then published in premier medical, peer reviewed journals. Also these studies when done right provide the consumer and our clients with justifiable confidence in the product. For example, a leading Pharma Company in India Cipla Ltd. (NSE: CIPLA) will be selling a topical cream and pills using our Celadrin® compound as a prescriptive drug to medical doctors and pharmacies throughout India. Great science leads to the generation of new clients and expanding channels of distribution.” - William P. Spencer

Financial
Insurance (Life)

Citizens, Inc. (CIA-NYSE)

“We approach the sale of life insurance from a slightly different perspective than most life insurance companies.  The problem people will face during their later years in life is the fact that we are all living longer and we will need to have an income when we can no longer work to earn an income. Citizens designs its products to provide an income that cannot be outlived.  Our products emphasize living benefits.  The most important part of the life insurance equation is the living benefit.  Living benefits help the majority of the people who buy life insurance because eighty-five of one hundred who reach age sixty-five will need the return of their money, not a death benefit.   By concentrating our product development energies toward the eighty-five percent of the population who will be living beyond the traditional retirement age, Citizens’ products benefit the majority.” - Rick Riley

Technology
Software and Programming

Smith Micro Software, Inc. (SMSI-NASD)

“In the wireless space, which is our lead focus area, we have been very fortunate to be able to get some of the big names in that market place to be our customers. We focus hard, we have a great product and we are recognized for that. We grow by helping our customers grow. The wireless data market is still a very early stage young market. Verizon Wireless, our largest customer, is the leader in this market and as they continue to grow, we grow. We also are looking at other customers coming on board as more and more service providers see the wisdom of offering data services.” - William W. Smith, Jr.



May 6, 2004

Services, Healthcare, Financial, Basic Materials, Technology  & Telecommunications

Services
Business Services

MTC Technologies Inc. (MTCT-NASD)

“The reason that we have been successful is that we always pay very careful attention to the needs of the customer. Our company vision and the training we provide our people are geared toward amazing the customer with the level of service that we give them. It starts with the selection of the people; we look hard to find the people that have the right background and qualifications for the job, and in many cases, that means a very particular type of expertise.” - David Gutridge

Healthcare
Medical Equipment

Ingen Technologies Inc. (CRTZ.PK)

“Ingen Technologies offers an investment opportunity that is unique. You have a company that has liquidity with a medical device that is patented and in production, with a vast market opportunity.” - Scott R. Sand

Healthcare
Biotechnology

Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation (GENE-NASDAQ)

“The vision that we had for the company was to create a pharmaceutical business. The company built a great track-record in genomics-based target discovery during the 1990’s, and parlayed that scientific capability into a number of successful alliances with major pharmaceutical companies. During the last three years, the company has taken the next step to focus on developing and marketing products of its own. Today, that is the chief mission of the company.” - Steven M. Rauscher

Financial
Regional Banks

WGNB Corp. (WGNB-NASD)
“According to U.S Banker Magazine, we are the 16th highest performing, publicly traded financial institution under one billion in assets in the nation. Over a five year period, our return on assets has averaged 1.52% while our peers averaged 1.31%. The company’s five year average return on equity is 16.35% and our peers are 13.63%. Over the last five years, dividends have increased an average of sixteen percent a year and continue to do well. Our management of the balance sheet has enabled us to maintain an excellent interest rate spread.” - L. Leighton Alston

Basic Materials
Misc. Fabricated Products

Super Vision International Inc. (SUPVA-NASD)

I think we are looking at an exciting time in the LED and lighting industry as a whole. A change like this doesn’t take place more than once a century. Super Vision has the key foundational position both from a patent and a product standpoint. With an investment in Super Vision they can participate in the tremendous growth of this industry.” - Brett Kingstone

Technology
Computer Services

InstaPay Systems Inc. (IPYS-OTC: BB)
”So far, we don’t see competition on the horizon for what we are doing. I think many of the larger companies in the industry have held back and thought that enabling debit transactions for Internet merchants is thinking out of the box, and they have decided to let someone else do it first. I am optimistic that we have a long lead on all the potential competitors, plus we have all of our patents, so I think the potential competitors are more likely to partner with us. I am not too worried about the competition.” - Harry Hargens

Telecommunications
Narrowband/Broadband Data

SkyLynx Communications, Inc. (SKYC-OTC)

“It doesn’t sound like much but our system is probably thirty percent of the original cost for a satellite system and an equal cost for a cellular based system. The per-minute usage is comparable to cellular; we are about 70% cheaper than a satellite based system.” - Gary Brown



April 23, 2004

Mining, Technology, Healthcare  & Environmental Technologies

Mining
Diamond Exploration

Diamond Discoveries International Corporation (DMDD-OTC)

“It was because of this discovery of diamonds in the Canadian shield of Northern Canada that there has been a great influx of diamond exploration in Canada by Canadian companies. There has been a great exchange of technical information between companies; Canadian junior companies are required to release all their technical information. There has been a great influx of knowledge about how diamonds occur, what to look for, how they are found and the technology has blossomed since 1998. Because of that, in Canada there has been a big growth in the diamond industry. I think Diamond Discoveries is one of the few of the North American OTC companies that are actually into the diamond exploration field.” - John Kowalchuk

Technology
Electronic Instruments & Controls

Merix Corp. (MERX-NASD)

“The vision that we established for the company when I took over was to become the premiere high technology printed circuit board supplier to leading OEMs on a global basis. While it has been difficult the last couple of years, I think we have executed on our strategy, continued to grow our customer base and continued to be recognized as a leading provider of high technology printed circuit boards.” - Mark Hollinger

Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies

Dynatronics Corporation (DYNT – NASD)

“In September 2003, Dynatronics introduced its new line of Solaris Light Therapy products.  These units offer infrared light therapy that can be plugged into a combination electrotherapy/ultrasound therapy unit and used for pain management and wound healing.” - Kelvyn H. Cullimore, Jr.

Healthcare
Services

The Quantum Group, Inc. (QTUM-OTC: BB)
“Our goal is to improve the quality of care. Many consumers are confused in thinking that expensive or unlimited care is better quality care. Most research facilities have found that not to be true. We, as a country, spend up to 50% more on a per capita basis than other developed countries that have by most standards, a better healthcare system, if you consider lifespan, infant mortality, over-all wellness and lifestyle as the qualifying factors. We spend the most money but we do not have the best system.  We, in The Quantum Group, believe that being more proactive and connected, by connecting the managed care organization to the physician to the patient, that we will be able to provide better healthcare for our patients or the patients of our clients at a lower cost.” - Noel J. Guillama

Environmental Technologies
Industrial Products

ENPAR Technologies Inc. (ENP – Toronto Venture)
“Our systems for treating drinking water and wastewater have many advantages. Let me start with our DesEl System for desalinating seawater and removing dissolved inorganic contaminants from brackish water.  With conventional approaches like reverse osmosis, for every ten gallons of water processed you may be lucky to recover five gallons of clean water while the remaining five gallons or more requires disposal. Our system consistently recovers more than nine gallons of clean water for every ten gallons treated, so you get a greatly improved recovery of water. The major cost is pumping that water, especially if it is ground water, so it is critical that as much clean water is recovered by the system as possible.”   - Dr. Gene Shelp



April 8, 2004

Healthcare, Mining, Technology & Consumer Products

Healthcare
Eye care Services

Eye Care International, Inc. (EYCI-OTC)
“Through a lot of trial and error, diligence and effort, we were able to essentially sign up roughly 50% of the most prestigious eye surgeons in the United States, to ECI’s discount model on an exclusive basis. We also have about 50% of all the optometric facilities on a non-exclusive basis. It makes us the largest discount vision network in the United States, and the only national discount network having ophthalmologist discount services including the electives. That was the vision, to bring the cost of eyecare down and service the population” Clark A. Marcus

Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supply

Trimedyne, Inc. (TMED-OTC)
“We have developed superb, patented products that address extremely large, multi-billion dollar markets in healthcare. Our products have been cleared for sale by the FDA, and are used in minimally invasive procedures, which are rapidly replacing conventional surgery. Most importantly, we have demonstrated that we can operate profitably.” - Marvin P. Loeb, Sc.D.

Mining
Gold Exploration

Canarc Resource Corp. (CRCUF.OB - OTC: BB) (CCM – Toronto)

“I think Canarc has all it needs in its property portfolio now, for a major gain in its share price, through our discovery and development of a gold mine in South America and through the geological work and construction of a high grade mine at New Polaris in northern British Columbia. These two projects alone should drive our shares significantly going forward.” - Bradford Cooke

Technology
Mobile Computing

AP Henderson Group (The Company) (APHG-OTC)
Slide View Corp. (The Subsidiary)

“We are in a hundred billion dollar market; we are the only company out there with intellectual property, securing this type of a concept of offering more panels in a view. We feel with our intellectual property, and potential rolling out our prototype, that we will step foot into into this segment, that we hope to capture a piece of that marketplace. With that market segment growing rapidly, we feel that a new product, offering a new solution to the up and coming multi-tasking, which has grown from infancy in 1998, to a relative in a five billion dollar market segment today, that we should be able to capture a potentially substantial piece of that market.” - Daniel Duquette

Consumer Products - Wine
Knightsbridge Fine Wines, Inc. (KFWI-OTC)

“Investors should realize that a company that becomes involved with Knightsbridge could dramatically increase their distribution on a global and national basis with the best sales team from the industry. Each member of our senior management in sales and marketing has a long resume of success of brands that they have created from nothing or brands that they have taken over and brought to million-case level sales volume. That is unique within the industry.” - Jake Shapiro



March 25, 2004

Financial, Technology, Energy & Services

Financial
Regional Banks

Peoples Financial Corporation (PFBX-NASD)

“You can’t have too much capital; I guess I inherited that from my father and my grandfather. Last year, when we did the interview, our primary capital average assets were about 15.3%. This year at year-end, it was 15.84%. Some of that was due to the fact that we had a good year.  I think it can also be attributable to the fact that the economy is truly getting better down here, which I think is a good thing.” - Chevis C. Swetman

Financial
Banking

Franklin American Mortgage Company (Privately-Held)

“We are here to stay. We have a strong balance sheet and we are only going to get better. Even in the market that we are in right now, we are still nicely profitable and we are going to continue to be. I think we are going to have a wonderful year in 2004 when the industry is projected to be down as much as 65% over last year. I think we are still going to have a very nice, comfortable, solid year at Franklin American Mortgage.” - Dan Crockett

Technology
Communications Equipment

ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc. (AEY-AMEX)

Over the last two years, with the transformation of our business, TULSAT has become a “Value Added Reseller” (VAR) of Scientific-Atlanta (NYSE: SFA) and Motorola (MOT) broadband products. TULSAT is an exclusive Scientific-Atlanta Master Distributor for certain legacy products and distributes most of their other products.  TULSAT has been designated an authorized third party Scientific-Atlanta repair center for selected products. Another subsidiary, NCS Industries, is a leading distributor of Motorola broadband products.  Other subsidiaries distribute several additional products along with operating repair centers for OEM equipment used in the “CATV” industry.” - Kenneth Chymiak

Energy
Oil and Gas Exploration

Whittier Energy Corporation (WHIT-OTC)

“I think investors should look at our recent history and our growth. When considering making an investment, they should look carefully at the management team. In our case, we have a close-knit management group of three people, who are highly qualified, energetic, and have the business experience necessary to successfully execute the company’s strategy. We have demonstrated our ability to do so over the last two years, and have every expectation of continuing down this path. We have been able to add new reserves to the company and add value for the shareholders. The company has a unique history in terms of its predecessors and with the Whittier family having been active in the oil industry since the late 1800’s. Whittier has a very good reputation and we expect to maintain it and carry it forward.” - Bryce W. Rhodes

Energy
Oil and Gas Operations

World Fuel Services Corporation (INT-NYSE)

 “In the marine market, we are the largest buyer and seller of marine fuel in the world. Nobody buys or sells more than we do, not even specific major oil companies. As a group, they buy and sell more than we do, but not individually. In aviation we are among the top ten sellers and top five buyers globally. As one of the biggest buyers and sellers of both marine and aviation fuels; if you put the two types of fuel together we are clearly one of the very largest buyers and sellers of such fuels in the world.” - Francis X. Shea

Services
Personal Services

Childtime Learning Centers Inc. (CTIM-NASD)

“We believe that our focus on excellence along with our proprietary curriculum gives us a competitive advantage in the market place.  We also are the only national childcare chain with a model that includes both corporate and franchise locations.  This allows us to leverage our infrastructure to provide our franchisees more support than in a pure franchising operation. The corporate/franchise model also gives us more growth potential than a normal corporate operation because we have the ability to have individual owner/operators expanding in markets.” - William Davis



March 11, 2004

Technology, Energy & Financial

Technology
Marine Treasure

Ruby Mining Company (RUBM.OB)

“We have spent much time and money developing this technology over a number of years and have now developed a technology that can tell the difference between gold, silver, copper, aluminum, etc. There are a number of technologies generally known as magnetometers that can tell you whether or not something is a ferrous or non-ferrous metal. There is no other technology that we know of, and we certainly have looked, that can tell you whether something is gold or silver.” - Howard Collingwood

Energy
Oil and Gas Producers

Celtic Exploration Ltd. (CLT-Toronto Stock Exchange)
“The way we choose properties is not geographically but more on how much upside we think there is in the area and the property. If we do an acquisition, we don’t do it to just add production to become bigger, but we do the acquisition because we think we can get the property producing two or three times as much as it is currently. Two or three years later, instead of producing two or three hundred barrels a day from the new property, we hope to be at five hundred or a thousand. We have been able to do that for the most part on anything that we have purchased.” - David J. Wilson

Financial
Community Banks

Oregon Pacific Bancorp (OPBP-OTC)

“Firstly, our customers receive immediate attention; because every one of our branches has a reception desk right in front of the front door and that desk is always manned with somebody who has been with the bank for a number of years and has some experience. That person will then direct them where they need to go with service. We don’t point them toward a telephone with an 800 number, which is what many of the larger banks do today. If we have somebody that needs service from our trust department, which is in the back of the Florence facility, we don’t point a finger and show them where to go, we call the trust person and they come out and greet them and take them back to their office.” - Tom Grove



February 26, 2004

Consumer Cyclical, Financial, Computer Software & Healthcare

Consumer Cyclical
Apparel/Accessories

The Leather Factory Inc. (AMEX: TLF)
“We like revenue growth, earnings growth, and cash flow.  We like to make money and put cash in the bank.  Over the last several years, we have been able to accomplish all of those things while expanding.  In addition, we have a quality management team with high ethical standards committed to running a solid, stable company.” - Shannon Greene

Financial
Community Bank

Michigan Heritage Bancorp Inc. (MHBC.OB)

“In 1997, we began as a community bank at a time when other banks were merging and becoming larger or actually going away because the big banks were gobbling them up. We felt there was a need for a smaller community bank to fill the void the larger banks left. We have actually done that over the last six-and-a-half years that we have been in business. Our IPO along with a few other local banks that went public during that time period have created a good relationship with various customers who are not being serviced properly by the larger out-of-state banks. At this point, I think we have done a good job in providing that service.” - Anthony S. Albanese

Computer Software
Interactive Entertainment

Games, Inc.
(GMSI - OTC: BB)

“We look at the company and we see a very high visibility in its brands and a high potential in the state lottery business and that is why we have put so much of our own personal money into the company. ” - Roger Ach

Healthcare
Biotechnology

InNexus Biotechnology Inc. (IXS-Toronto: Venture)

“Over the last 30 years, it has been proven that you can make drugs from
monoclonal antibodies and that these drugs can probably be more useful than traditional drugs in treating different kinds of diseases. Currently, monoclonal antibodies do about three billion dollars a year in sales. It has gone from a great concept to a proven commercial approach in making drugs. What we do is improve the therapeutic activity of monoclonal antibodies. There are two big impacts of that; obviously the first means that we can treat diseases better with monoclonal antibodies and probably more importantly, it means that we can get them approved as drugs more readily. They have a much higher likelihood of being approved as a SuperAntibody rather than a regular monoclonal antibody.” - Dr. Charles A. Morgan



February 12, 2004

Financial, Technology & Services

Financial
Regional Banks

Analyst Interview Covering:
First State Bancorporation (FSNM-NASD)

“First State Bancorporation’s Colorado operation will gain some maturity over the next two or three years. The New Mexico business is mature and they have some refinement that they can do there but it is firing on all cylinders; it is a matter of getting Colorado up to where New Mexico is. Both markets should provide for solid balance sheet growth but the Colorado opportunity should be very good for a long time, considering the company’s low market share.” - Peyton N. Green, Senior Analyst, Financial Institutions Group, FTN Midwest Research Securities Corp.

Financial
Regional Banks

First State Bancorporation (FSNM-NASD)
“I think for our organization, the key has been that although the majority of our operation is still here in New Mexico, we now have opportunities in three states that give us a much larger potential marketplace and some geographic diversity. Probably the one thing that is hard to convey in the written word is that we have some of the best people working for us in all of those markets. As the big banks have changed their policies and the way they operate, they have opened up the opportunity for us to hire some of the best banking talent in each of these markets. ” - H. Patrick Dee

Services
Business Services

Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. (AIX-AMEX)
“I think that because people try to categorize AccessIT, they look at where much of our revenue and operating profits come from, they only see software and data centers and immediately they think maybe that is what we are. When someone looks at our history, however, they need to understand that we have used this platform that we created over the past couple of years to move all the way up to the top of the stack in the application layer to secure a leading position in an industry that is about to explode. In my opinion, if an investor is interested in an emerging company, particularly one addressing digital media, then Access IT is the primary investment and the only pure play that they can invest in. ” - A. Dale Mayo


Technology
Scientific and Technical Instruments

Image Sensing Systems Incorporated (ISNS-NASD)

“We are in a growing market.  Our focus has been intersections. We have not touched the Freeway market and that is something we will have to look into as a company. Right now, our plate is full as we are in the development process with three products for the current year and one product for next year. We also have a number of software upgrades and new features we are working on. There are just so many things you can do and do right.”   Going back to early 2002 we were limping; we said we may have made some wrong turns in the road and we’ll get it turned around. I am pleased that our engineers, distributors and our partners, Econolite and Wireless Technology, Inc. have done an outstanding job and it has reflected in our sales and profits.” - James Murdakes

Services
Communications Services

Millicom International Cellular SA (MICC-NASD)

“The biggest challenge for us is to cope with this increased growth. We really see great opportunities in the countries where we are now present. We want to seize those opportunities. We are a relatively small organization, so we will have to work hard to cope with that growth but I am very much convinced that we can do that. The growth is there in Asia and Africa. We will be there to take advantage of that.” - Marc Beuls


Services
Technology Services

Calian Technology Ltd. (CTY-TSX)

“I have been with Calian for three years now, and I have seen the evolution at Calian. We have a strong management team. We have a team that is conservative in its approach and does not make decisions lightly. It is focused on making sure that decisions are inline with its vision to be the most desirable service provider to work for, buy from and invest in. We look at those three areas continually when we are making decisions. We have built a strong, solid company with a very good reputation; and we have a solid backlog to support it.” - Jacqueline Gauthier

Financial
Banks

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. (PNFP-NASD)

“Banking is still a people business, so the most important ingredient of providing distinctive service is ensuring that you have a workforce that is excited, engaged and capable of providing excellent service. There are other components to our distinctive service, such as a courier deposit pick-up system. We go to commercial clients’ locations to pick up their deposits and bring them to the bank. That has been an outstanding component of our service equation and it is different from what the large regional banks do. Additionally, we are blessed by the fact that when we started the company in the year 2000, we started with state-of-the-art systems, which are all online, real-time, Oracle database systems. The point of that is, the information that we are able to provide clients is real-time and so robust that the quality of information they are able to retrieve from our company is far superior to what they can receive from a large regional bank and most community banks. Distinctive service takes on a number of components, the most critical of which is people, but also includes innovative approaches to distribution such as courier deposit pick-up and state-of-the-art system support.” - M. Terry Turner



January 30, 2004

Healthcare, Financial & Financial Insurance

Healthcare
Healthcare Management

Universal Healthcare Management Systems, Inc. (UHMG-OTC)

“Anyone who has read our business plan has fallen in love with the company. We have been a doctor-based company and 75-95% of our investments have been from doctors, which I think is phenomenal because it is saying that the medical community has faith in this. If the doctors and the medical community have faith in us, I think the people at-large should also. ” - Kenneth N. Hankin

Financial
Savings Banks

Franklin Bank Corp. (FBTX-NASDAQ)

“We believe any of the institutions that we want to buy have done a great job in the community and the owners and directors should stay in some capacity. We created advisory boards, which allow us to continue to prospect for new opportunities and new employees and customers in the community. We are going to continue the community bank philosophy and name and just provide capital, a better technology, and more products.” - Anthony Nocella

Financial Insurance
Property and Casualty

Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc. (MIG-NYSE)

“Most companies shy away from the small/medium sized business because they can’t efficiently handle the back office. With our technology and our processing advantage, we are able to do that. I think that is one of the major challenges that we have been able to overcome, and it is a barrier to entry for a lot of companies trying to compete with us.” - Robert S. Cubbin



January 15, 2004

Energy & Technology

Energy
Oil/Gas Exploration

Aspen Exploration Corporation (ASPN-OTC)
“Aspen has a 24-year operating history; we are very solid, honest, and well respected by our peers  (the other oil and gas companies) service companies and the land owners.  We pay all of our bills quickly. We are a well-run company with little debt and we have good existing production and good prospects to drill in the future. We are a natural gas producer and natural gas prices are extremely high now with good prices forecast for months and hopefully years to come.” - Bob Cohan

“Aspen is a company with two full time employees and a market cap of about five million dollars or so. Most companies our size might drill one or two wells a year, while Aspen is able to drill five or six wells a year in addition to achieving some production acquisitions. For a company our size, that is considered aggressive. We are efficient and well-run and we are able to do quite a bit with a small staff.” - Bob Cohan

Technology
Computer Peripherals

SAND Technology Inc. (SNDT-NASDAQ)
“Many people think of business intelligence in terms of managers looking at “cubes” of data, which are predefined data subsets they have been given to work with. The problem with this approach is that it presupposes that the answer is in the subset. The SAND Analytic Server allows organizations to think "outside-the-cube" because we don’t put those restrictions on them; we give them unrestricted access to all the relevant business data.” - Robert Thompson



January 2, 2004

Mining, Consumer Cyclical & Financial

Mining
Diamond Exploration

North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NSDM-Pink Sheets)
“North Star Diamonds has a very good management team. We have a slow burn out rate; that means that our over-head is very low. We are under valued in the market as far as I am concerned.  Plans are to become fully reporting in early 2004 and apply for OTC:BB listing.   We have some of the best people and we have one of the world’s foremost satellite imaging area experts, and he has pointed out where we should be going. Since the early 1970s I have been interested in diamonds and have a vast knowledge of the type of area where and what we should be looking for. I actually feel that we have the best management team in the industry for a small cap company. I feel the benefits of the approach we have taken will become apparent in the near future.” - Walter Stunder

Consumer Cyclical
Apparel/Accessories

Perry Ellis International Inc. (PERY-NASD)
“We have begun to have brands that appeal to women. We acquired the Jantzen® swimwear business from VF Corp. about eighteen months ago and with that we picked up licenses to produce Tommy Hilfiger® and NIKE® swimwear, which are primarily women’s wear. So that gives us some access to the women’s market and gets us out of just being a men’s wear company. It gives us the opportunity to expand the Jantzen brand in resort wear and women’s sportswear. We just acquired a company called Redsand®, which is a surf brand and we are hoping we can expand that to juniors and we have another company called Original Penguin®, which is a retro young men’s line and there seems to be a good demand for a junior line there. There are opportunities to acquire brands in juniors or missies or various areas.” - Timothy Page

Financial
Banks

Taylor Capital Group, Inc. (TAYC-NASD)
“I feel fortunate to be an owner of this company, and to have the opportunity each day to influence our success by being out in the marketplace and talking about our approach to business banking.  We deliver a depth of understanding that other banks cannot.  As I often explain to both our officers and our customers, we are more than just a loan maker and deposit taker.  Because we understand the complexities of operating a business ourselves, we can share our experiences, our advisors, and our resources with our business customers.   In this way, we can help these business owners deal with issues they may be facing or opportunities they may be embarking upon.  This is the “value added” component Cole Taylor delivers to our customers — and you just can’t get that from the larger banks.” - Jeffrey W. Taylor



December 11, 2003

Basic Materials, Financial & Healthcare

Basic Materials
Chemical Manufacturing

U.S. Microbics Inc. (BUGS.OB)
If you look at the way our technology, which is the technology of the new millennia, vs. the 1970s or 1980s technology, which is what the competition uses, their philosophy is to never really fix the problem but to study it and work on it as long as possible to maximize their revenue. Our philosophy is to get in there and fix it, get paid when we fix it and move on to the next project. We have a new paradigm shift in terms of solving the problem and not just masking the symptoms and we do it on a “pay for performance” basis rather than a “pay for effort” basis. Most of the states will be changing to that philosophy, and we are in the forefront of that. The only way to execute that philosophy is to use biotechnology. We are seeing a major change in the shift to clean up contamination. I think we are well positioned for the next twenty years.” - Robert Brehm

Financial
Community Bank

Monarch Bank (MNRK-NASD)
“Investors should know that we are well positioned for interest rates when they start to rise. The balance sheet is very asset sensitive with almost 60% of our outstanding loans rate-sensitive. The other thing that investors do not know about Monarch is that we were posed for the future as far as “other income”. Starting our bank at a time when rates were at historic lows has helped us because I feel that if we can make money in this environment, then we can succeed in just about any environment. The last thing is that we are fanatical about loan quality; we have no loans that are ninety days past due, no-non accruals and no charge-offs. Since our inception of April of 1999, we have only had one charge off and that was $500 dollars!” - William F. Rountree, Jr.

Healthcare
Medical Equipment and Supplies

Ventana Medical Systems Inc. (VNSI-NASD)
“Tissue specimens resulting from any hospital procedure are sent to a histology lab where a hematoxylin and eosin (or “primary”) stain is performed. The resulting stained tissue slide is reviewed by a pathologist who determines whether the tissue is normal or abnormal. In 80-85% of the cases, specimens are determined to be normal and no further testing is required. The remaining 15-20% of cases is generally put through a series of “advanced stains” in which the pathologist obtains ever more detailed information to aid in making a diagnosis. Ventana’s current generation automated instrument and reagent systems are used in this “advanced staining” segment which comprises three different types of technology; special stains, Immunohistochemistry (IHC) stains, and In situ hybridization (ISH) stains. We are expecting to launch a new primary staining system offering entirely new levels of automation in the fourth-quarter of 2004” - Nicholas Malden



November 20, 2003

Healthcare, Technology, Financial & Services

Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies

Possis Medical, Inc. (NASD: POSS)
“Because AngioJet® is fairly wide spread, we are the leader in mechanical thrombectomy. I think we have established that it is an important therapy used to treat people with blood clots and we have over 1100 drive units spread across this nation. That means that we are in 95% of the top medical centers across the United States and that gets attention. It means that the leading institutions across this land believe it has been established as a very important therapy and its uses are increasing and we do everything we can to support that.” Robert G. Dutcher

“The good news is that our business continues to grow and the reason is we are better for the patient.  We cause less discomfort, are safer and we actually can help them get dialysis faster than some of the other techniques. We have proven there is a valid therapy in removing blood clots and we have proven that we can make money providing that therapy. Our profitable business model will attract competition to come in and try to find a way into the business. There are a number of smaller, and larger, companies nibbling at the edges of our business. So, our markets are never locked up.” - Eapen Chacko

Technology
Scientific and Technical Instruments

MFIC Corporation (OTC: MFIC)
“We have come a long way in the pharmaceutical and biotech areas. We have been the equipment of choice in performing cell disruption in the biotech industry and there are few biotech companies today that do not use it for that application, as well as for efficient formulation development. We believe that you cannot do modern day formulation without a Microfluidizer
Ò laboratory level processor system because of its versatility, its ease of cleaning, its scalability and its light weight. At only forty pounds, it can be moved easily from place to place. In other industrial settings, we also bring competitive advantages to users. The ink-jet ink application is one of the biggest ones in which we are involved. If you use an ink-jet printer, it is highly likely that the ink was made on a Microfluidizer Processor System.” - Irwin Gruverman

Financial
Regional Banks

West Coast Bancorp (Oregon) (WCBO-NASD)
“Our strategy is oriented towards taking market share away from larger institutions. There has been a significant amount of disruption in the marketplace through M&A activity, and changes in operative paradigms. We have been successful in attracting, recruiting, and keeping good people so we can grow our share.” - Robert D. Sznewajs

Financial
Community Bank

New Century Bancorp (NCBN.OB)
“Our vision was to provide our community with a bank that would be attuned to the needs of the customer base in our market.  That has been so successful, that we have been able to expand into other markets. We anticipated a fifty-million dollar community bank into the end of the third year. At the end of the third year, we were almost a one hundred-and-fifty million dollar bank. We feel that we have achieved our goal of being a premiere community bank in our market area.” - John Q. Shaw

Services
Visual Communication Services

Mail-Well Inc. (MWL-NYSE)
“We differentiate ourselves with the depth of our services and the depth of our product line. We have the ability to provide many products and services to many different locations. Today most of our competitors are one-plant, one-product line operations. If you look at Mail-Well that has over 85 manufacturing facilities across North America and many product lines, we are different.” - Paul V. Reilly



November 6, 2003

Technology & Financial

Technology
Security

Universal Detection Technology (UDTT.OB-OTC)
“It is very competitive and difficult if you want to develop fully proprietary technology within a small company and then take it to a government sector. However, when you are in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as we are, and you bring that kind of credibility and science and government backing in partnership with yourself, that is where you all of a sudden find yourself having a lot of potential for the future.” - Jacques Tizabi

“The advantage that the Universal Detection device has is basically three fold. First, it is faster than any other device out there. It will give you positive results within 15 minutes of exposure to the Anthrax bacteria. The second advantage that it has is that it works on its own; you do not need an attendant or a technician to be there constantly. If there is a positive detection result, it will give off an alarm and notify the appropriate individual. The third major advantage is that our device never gives false positive results, which is a serious drawback to the other technologies that are out there. For example, the PCR DNA based technology can give a positive result from pollen or other organic material. In contrast, our device only gives a positive result in the presence of the Bacterial spores.” - Amir Ettehadieh

Technology
Artificial Intelligence

Subjex Corporation (SBJX-OTC)
“Our biggest challenge initially was to describe how the technology worked. We have overcome that by putting our own virtual sales agent on our website that literally sells itself. We have many people that are astounded that they are actually talking to software. The biggest challenge now is in helping our clients train their implementation. There is a learning curve that the AI has which lasts two weeks to two months, depending on the amount of effort put into it. The results of our clients training their implementation are astounding. The return on investment is one of the greatest selling factors. We have created our technology, by design to become smarter and therefore more valuable the more it gets used.” - Andrew D. Hyder

Technology
Consumer 3D

Venga Aerospace Systems Inc. (YVY-TSX Venture)
“To a certain extent, 3D is a mature market because it has been around since the late 1900s. We are a niche market, but a large one. It is a film-based product and there are 3D digital cameras that are coming out shortly and we want to market those also. We will enter into development with the largest retailer in Canada to test market 3D cameras. Typically, 3D camera users tend to be more upscale and professional.” - Hirsh Kwinter

Financial
Commercial Banks

ParkeBank (PKBK-NASD)
“If you service someone in the proper manner, they will tell someone else because they are business people. They say “if you are having a problem, go talk to ParkeBank”. For example, we just took on an excellent client who was having difficulty with a large bank. They were going from this committee to that committee and the client was getting frustrated. An accounting firm in their area knew of ParkeBank as being familiar with the construction industry, so they called us. We met with the owner the next day, they laid out their needs for construction equipment financing and this Thursday we will get the loan approved and will close it in a week. If you respond properly, your reputation gets out there and spreads.” - Vito S. Pantilione



October 23, 2003

Services, Technology & Basic Materials

Services
Security Systems and Services

AXCESS Inc. (AXSI-OTC:BB)
“This is an exciting time in the security industry, with the entire industry transitioning through an automation model. As we like to say “it will only go digital once in anyone’s lifetime” and that time is now. That means that there are some tremendous opportunities for investment success with companies that are positioned properly. We believe that AXCESS is very well positioned, both in terms of the position in the security industry as well as with the technology-based solutions we have introduced. As exciting as anything is the way we have established the business to be very scaleable and to be able to grow very rapidly. As investors look at AXCESS, I think that we fit the profile for investors who are looking for those kinds of companies with exciting growth opportunities.” - Allan Griebenow

Technology
Supply Chain Management Software

TECSYS Inc. (TCS-TSX)
“At this point, there are a number of players in the market, and everyone has their unique claim to fame. However, where we believe we stand out is in the area of integration. There is no other player out there today that has a market-leading office-side distribution system which is fully integrated with an industrial strength warehouse management system, coupled with a complete enterprise transportation management system, accessible through a strategic business intelligence and executive decision making system, and real-time communications customers and suppliers handled by a feature rich e-commerce system.  In most cases, customers are forced to choose a group of stand-alone vendors that they hope will work together to provide the solution and have to manage the integration themselves.  Whereas in our case, we provide a single vendor solution right out of the box – fully integrated.   That is our primary claim to fame. As you drill a little deeper, we are the company in this space that can handle extremely high volumes of transactions. We have one account that is processing four hundred thousand order lines in a four-hour window each day. We are also the company with the most flexible rebate tracking system. We have a very flexible pricing system, and we provide a complete ‘cradle to grave’ lot control system, as well as DEA licensing for the pharmaceutical industry, and as a result, almost 40% of our business is in the pharmaceutical space.  Our key market segments include healthcare distribution (pharmaceutical and medical/surgical supplies distribution), general wholesale (to retail) distribution, and 3PL (third party logistics) providers.” - Peter Brereton

Technology
Computer Services

On2 Technologies, Inc. (ONT-AMEX)
“We sell software that allows people to compress video and send and receive it on things like computers, television sets, cell phones and other devices. We take video and film, which is really a bunch of still-shots that are put together at a rate faster than the human eye can detect, and using algorithms break them down into electronic bits, so that they can be sent through relatively narrow gateways on the cable modem telephone. It is reconstructed on the other end to look the same way to the human eye as it would if it were the original video or film. Over the last fourteen years, this company has specialized in that process of deconstructing and reconstructing videos over great distances and relatively small pipelines.” - Douglas McIntyre

Technology
Software and Programs

MapInfo Corp. (MAPS-NASD)
“We are a hundred million dollar software company, which has weathered a brutal downturn in the telecommunications and IT spending environment. Two years later we are profitable at the same revenue level and having to restructure our entire business. We have a strong franchise on a global basis with hundreds of thousands of loyal global users. We have steady growth on that core business moving forward. We also have some significant opportunities ahead. Wi-Fi and Homeland Security could be significant for MapInfo. However, we are not counting on explosive growth in any one area. If we see the potential moving forward, we will invest aggressively, like we have done in the past. I think any potential investor should know that we are a company that has weathered the downturn and it has been very tough for software companies our size, and many of them have really struggled as we did, but we are out of it. We are profitable with growth opportunities ahead of us.” - Mark Cattini

Basic Materials
Metal Mining

North American Palladium (TSX: PDL) (AMEX: PAL)
“We currently have a long-term contract with a major automobile manufacturer that includes a price protection. This year our average price will be around $440.00 per ounce. Next year it may fall off to a low of $325.00 if the spot price does not come back up. Our long-term contract goes through the middle of 2005. Palladium and platinum belong to a group of metals have some unique properties, such as the ability to hold hydrogen and the ability to convert exhaust gases to a less harmful gas. I doubt use of palladium in catalytic converters will go down because they are beginning to use those things in Asia. As we move forward with catalytic converters in places like China, Viet Nam, Thailand and those areas, you are going to see actual usage go up. This is long term and there are other uses coming along such as energy storage and fuel cells.” - Andre Douchane



October 9, 2003

 Healthcare, Aerospace Technology, Technology, Services & Finance

Healthcare
Biotechnology

CytoGenix, Inc. (CYGX-OTC)
“People should not invest in our company unless they have the intent to put some effort into understanding our technology, and then they should follow the way we are developing scientifically. I think if people do that, they will recognize that we have an enormously broad platform that is approachable. We have a business model that we think is beginning to work. We have been in business with this technology for about four years, which is a short time for most Biotechs. We think that in our next round of funding we will get enough money to get a couple of our formulations into clinical trials. If we do, we will see success in our licensing to larger corporations that will be able to take us the rest of the way through the FDA. I advise people to look at our track-record, and look at our future plans to see whether we keep our promises.” - Dr. Malcolm Skolnick

Aerospace Technology
Aircraft Maintenance

Renegade Venture Corporation (RDVN-OTC)
“If you are not high quality there are problems with the FAA. Our competitors have a much higher overhead structure than we have. Senior management here, wear a number of different hats and we only add overhead when we know we have the business. The other edge is that we have recently just broken into the international aircraft trading business. One of the things we spoke about in interviews last year is that we needed to do that in order to capture our market. If you are able to supply the aircraft to your customers and supply them with maintenance attached, you will ensure your future business.” - Ian Herman

Technology
Computer Services

Pinnacle Data Systems, Inc. (AMEX: PNS)
“We see growth across many of the markets we serve, especially where OEMs have cut resources over the past couple of years, are maintaining an internal set of core engineering competencies and are out-sourcing their specialty engineering needs.” - John D. Bair

Services
Business Services

DiamondCluster International (DTPI-NASD)
“We are seeing a sharp pick up in demand. Most observers believe that because we are a company that works with large companies, and we work at seniors levels and our work has a high planning component in it, most observers would think that we are early in the cycle. I think that as we see the sharp shift in demand, my sense is that it is good news for the technology industry in general. It certainly is an indication that the economy is picking up and businesses are beginning to think about spending again.” Mel E. Bergstein

Financial
Commercial Banks

Northeast Bancorp/ME (NBN-AMEX)
“Our number-one strategy is to serve three main constituents. Our employees, our customers, and our shareholders. We work for the shareholders and our strategy is always to be mindful of their needs and to deliver superior earnings, but more importantly, to deliver a fair and competitive dividend and at the same time leaving us sufficient capital to grow the company and support the buy back of our shares.” - James Delamater

Finance
Banks

VSB Bancorp, Inc. (VSBN-OTC)
“VSB has been around for about five-and-a-half years; the Bancorp owns Victory State Bank, which is a commercial bank headquartered with all branches on Staten Island. The need for a small bank to serve professional and commercial customers as opposed to consumers is based on the ability to know your customers better. This allows you to service their needs better, and make commercial loans to brand new businesses and to retail businesses that never show a profit but have been around for a long time and always pay their bills, but don’t demonstrate; in their financial statements the ability to repay debt. That capacity is lost in larger banks that now do computer-based screening for loan applications, so if you don’t pass the screening, you don’t get the loan. While commercial loan officers in those banks, are entitled to override those screenings; they do so at their own peril; if they are wrong, they have to justify the decision.” - Merton Corn

Technology
Computer Services

Verticalnet, Inc. (VERT-NASD: SC)
“The Verticalnet of today is a company focused on developing leading solutions in a high growth market. The strategic sourcing space is the next area that corporations are looking for to drive value and enable them to become more strategic in terms of how they manage their relationships with suppliers. This sector is predicted to be the highest growth sector in software over the next three to four years. We are extremely well positioned from a product and company standpoint with market-leading customers that include IKEA, Lowe’s, Valvoline, and MasterBrand Cabinets. We have a management team that has taken on the challenges that we faced financially and from a business standpoint, and have achieved a tremendous amount in a short time.” - Nathanael Lentz

Technology
Healthcare Claims Processing

ClaimsNet.com Inc. (CLAI.OB-OTC BB)
“Our target customer is what is generically called the payer community of the healthcare business, which means third-party administrators, preferred provider organizations, HMOs and insurance carriers, as well as some self-insured large employers. They go to their high-volume paper providers and tell them that there is a better way to do things and that they will get paid faster, have less work and we will be much happier. The payers sponsor us into the provider offices.” - Don Crosbie



September 25, 2003

 Financial, Enterprises & Technology

Financial
Regional Banks

Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. (SUSQ-NASD)
“We have a well-rounded management team that spans the bank side and the non-bank side. We have a very solid history of earnings and dividend growth. We are in one of the top market areas in the United States from a demographic and population growth standpoint. We have developed, over a long period of time, a very strong credit culture where our net charge-offs, in good and bad times, are better than our peers. We earn about 35 cents on a dollar in fee income. We have developed a passion and excitement about who we are, what we are. We have a rapidly growing sales culture. Most of all, we have a shareholder-focused strategic plan in which all the components of what we do from a strategy standpoint revolves around the creation of shareholder value.” - William Reuter

Financial
Banks

Northern States Financial Corp. (NSFC-NASD)
“We acquired Round Lake Bankcorp, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, First State Bank of Round Lake last Thursday, which was September 11th. It is a profitable bank that is a mirror to our bank with two locations and a full staff. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to purchase it. Northern States will add a hundred and ten million dollars in assets from these two locations.” - Fred Abdula

Enterprises
Service Providers

Packeteer, Inc. (PKTR - NASD)
“What differentiates us is primarily in our very deep classification at Layer 7. Our ability to literally classify an operation is somewhere in the order of 400 different applications that give our customers great insight of what is running on their network, and the specific technology that we use in setting policies for controlling those applications, which is patented technology called TCP Rate Control. We do not let data depart until we know it can land and that ability to provide granular rate control across the network gives our customers a predictability in being able to prioritize or block or minimize unwanted traffic, and that is different than our competition.” - Dave Cote

Technology
Computer Services

Verticalnet, Inc. (VERT-NASD: SC)
“The Verticalnet of today is a company focused on developing leading solutions in a high growth market. The strategic sourcing space is the next area that corporations are looking for to drive value and enable them to become more strategic in terms of how they manage their relationships with suppliers. This sector is predicted to be the highest growth sector in software over the next three to four years. We are extremely well positioned from a product and company standpoint with market-leading customers that include IKEA, Lowe’s, Valvoline, and MasterBrand Cabinets. We have a management team that has taken on the challenges that we faced financially and from a business standpoint, and have achieved a tremendous amount in a short time.” - Nathanael Lentz

Technology
Computer Hardware

SteelCloud, Inc. (SCLD-NASD)
“The network security market is one in which we have significant experience and insight.  We knew that CA (Computer Associates International, Inc.)(NYSE: CA) had some very good software products in the security arena, however, unlike many of their competitors, none of CA’s security products were available as ready-to-deploy appliances.  As a result, CA had lost significant market share to competitors who sell their software as fully integrated appliances that deliver immediate ROI to the end user customer. We were very familiar with CA’s competition, and knew we could develop an appliance that was superior to the competition.  So we introduced CA to this concept.  They may very well have been thinking internally of a plan along those lines.   Anyway, we took the initiative, formed a team (which includes Microsoft).  The result was that we launched our family of SteelCloud/CA co-branded security appliances at the CA World Convention in Las Vegas.  The reception by CA’s worldwide group of channel partners was tremendous.” - Thomas Dunne

Technology
Superconductors

Superconductive Components, Inc. (SCCI-OTC)
“What potential investors may not know is that the company has realigned itself toward manufacturing. We believe that Lithium the Thin Film battery area is an area that is going to take off rapidly in the next year to eighteen months, so applications like active RFID tags would be in potential use because these batteries are very small and discreet. Power supplies, battery on a chip, would be another application. With only the required chips sets up and running, you would be able to manage your energy needs by turning chips on and off as needed. Smart cards are another area where these batteries have real potential. From the heels of that, we believe that superconducting materials are finally beginning to take hold and will become a real business within the next three to five months.” - Dan Rooney

Technology
Electro-luminescence

GloTech Industries, Inc. (GTHI-OTC)
“Our goal is to replace reflective materials on vests with electroluminescent lamps. We believe this technology provides superior visibility to the product because it does not need an outside light source and does not need to be viewed from a certain angle. We are working actively on standards for safety vests.  We believe that the large companies that provide reflective material are our competition. On the other hand, we like to work with manufacturers that make vests, and we do not envision ourselves manufacturing the vests. Our strategy is to enter into license agreements with those manufacturers to have them do what they know best, which is making vests with our technology.” - Heinz Fraunhoffer



September 11, 2003

 Business Services, Services, Technology, Capital Goods Industrial Products & Mining

Business Services
Services

Precision Auto Care (PACI - NASD)
“We have a heritage and culture of being under the hood, so we have a serious advantage over somebody who has been focused under the car or on mufflers or brakes. It is a lot easier to go from under the hood to under the car; under the hood is getting more complicated. A car today is about 20% electronic, and in five years, it will be 40% electronic. If you don’t have that under-the-hood culture throughout your system, it takes a while to change that culture.” - Louis N. Brown Jr.


Services
Real Estate Operations

FirstService Corporation (FSV - TSX) (FSRV – NASDAQ)
“Whether we are looking at the Residential Property Management area, Security, Consumer Services or our Business Services area, we have what we refer to as platform investments, which are larger investments in these areas. Many of these are geographic specific. In virtually all of our businesses, the senior management teams are also partners, so they retain a direct ownership interest in those businesses; they have a direct investment in the businesses they manage on a day-to-day basis. We are big proponents of variable, performance driven compensation and incentives. Whether on a short-term basis, such as annual bonuses, or a longer-term basis, through equity ownership, there is a high degree of motivation to ensure that they are managing and providing service at an optimal level and that allows them to continue to retain customers and grow their businesses.” - John Friedrichsen

Healthcare
Spa Industries

Current Technology Corp. (CRTCF:OTC)
“When my wife and I co-founded the company, we saw this technology platform as one to be directed at males and I think that was probably a reasonable assumption on a first look basis.  However, as we have gotten further into it we feel it is going to be significant for women and are very excited about its prospects.  Definitely on the cosmetic side, this relates to how concerned women are of any issues relating to the appearance of their hair.” - Robert Kramer


Technology
Digital Audio Recording Systems

FTR Ltd. (FTR: AX – Australian Exchange)
“Since changing our focus to a simpler product in 1998, one of the things we have done very well is convey to customers that this is a transition from cassette tape recorders to CD. That is all this is about-- nothing fancy, not a revolution but simply an evolution, which is a good message for the pragmatic person; and courts tend to be very traditional and very pragmatic. FTR is the market leader. We spend an extraordinary amount of time talking to our niche market, we are at every trade show and we have been in every publication for the past five or six years now. Therefore, I think you would be hard pressed to find a court system in North America that was not aware of us.” - Steve Townsend

Capital Goods
Capital Goods-Misc.
 
Cycle Country Accessories Corp. (ATC - AMEX)
“We are in a growing industry, and it has grown through the years when many industries have suffered. If we look at ATV sales, our business has mirrored the number of ATVs that are sold and those sales just keep going up every year. We have been able to continue to develop new products for the ATV industry, and we feel as these products hit the market, our company will benefit financially. We have been successful at developing some strategic alliances with OEMs in the lawn and garden industry, which is going to allow us to expand beyond our traditional ATV industry. Further, our entrance onto the AMEX, opens our stock to many more brokers and potential investors.  That is going to be a good thing for us, for the value of our stock, and long-term investments in our company.” - Ronald Hickman

Industrial Products
Fuel Storage Cylinders

Dynetek Industries Ltd. (DNK - TSX)
“What we build is storage systems and the storage systems begin with the tank. The tank is an aluminum and carbon fiber light-weight cylinder that we build right here in our facility and in Europe. It is everyday aluminum; we buy it at Alcoa Inc. in the United States. On a global basis, this business is very regulated and subject to certification in every country. The point to be made is that it is not something you can build in your garage and sell it the next day. It takes anywhere from twelve to twenty-four months to gain these certifications so you can actually begin to sell these products in the market place. We see ourselves and our product as a market leader for light-weight containers, which is really due to our proprietary process to thin the wall of our liner. The lighter wall means thinner application, so in some cases we can use three cylinders where our competitors use four or five, which is more costly and more weight. That is the value proposition that we provide to our customers.” - Robb Thompson

Mining
Gold and Silver Exploration

Kimber Resources, Inc. (KBR-TSX Venture)
“I think the key fact is that we have an emerging resource, which does not depend on an increase in the price of gold or silver. There are risks remaining, of course, but we have been looking for the fatal flaw in this deposit for two-and-a-half years now, and we have not found it.” - Robert Longe

Technology
Healthcare Claims Processing

ClaimsNet.com Inc. (CLAI.OB-OTC BB)
“Our target customer is what is generically called the payer community of the healthcare business, which means third-party administrators, preferred provider organizations, HMOs and insurance carriers, as well as some self-insured large employers. They go to their high-volume paper providers and tell them that there is a better way to do things and that they will get paid faster, have less work and we will be much happier. The payers sponsor us into the provider offices.” - Don Crosbie

August 28, 2003
Services & Technology

Services
Business Services

Ventiv Health, Inc. (VTIV - NASD)
“Ventiv has been consistently profitable for five quarters.  If you look at our recent new clients wins, Ventiv is poised to steadily strengthen its results as we move forward through the balance of 2003 and beyond.  We are now a highly focused organization, having divested some non-core and unprofitable businesses, and focused on execution and delivering results for our clients.  In addition, our balance sheet is very strong, and from a valuation perspective, Ventiv is particularly attractive for investors.” - Eran Broshy

Technology
Communications Equipment

ViewCast.com, Inc. (VCST - OTC)
“We believe video is going to be ubiquitous in a business environment, so we continue to invest in ways to make the video user experience as easy as possible. We want the user interfaces to be intuitive and easy to use. That is our main focus; we believe we have an excellent hardware platform, so we are moving toward application software where we continue to deliver value that will make the use of video compelling.” - George Platt

Technology
Energy Management

Power Efficiency Corp. (PREF-OTC)
“Our strategy is to identify the applications, where our technology provides the maximum energy savings. We first measure the power used by a motor without our controller and then run the same application with our controller installed.  Customers can see the savings. Testing has shown that escalators and elevators are a perfect application. We manufacture private label controllers for OTIS, KONE and SCHINDLER in this sector. Successful test results on granulators used in the plastic industry have led to the recently announced marketing arrangement and joint venture with Rapid Granulator a leading manufacturer of granulators.  Our preliminary tests on oil and gas pump jacks have been very encouraging. We identified this application for testing because pump jacks are fully loaded only on the up stroke. After we prove our technology in a sector we focus are sales efforts in high energy areas maximizing our customers’ ROI. Many states with high electricity costs provide incentives and rebates that help offset the cost of our controllers further increasing customers’ ROI. - Richard Koch

Technology
Emerging Growth Technologies

Consortium Service Management Group, Inc. (CTUM-OTC)
“The tissue bonding technology has been referred to as the Holy Grail of the surgery industry. We would not want to speculate on how long it will take to get it into the mainstream marketplace of the western world but we are moving forward with plans to begin regulatory work in the US and International markets. Today we have done over a thousand successful human surgeries and we are currently running at the rate of 80 to 100 new surgeries per month. We are constantly expanding into different types of procedures for different types of organs. The procedures so far have involved the bonding and reconnecting of incised or separated human tissues in the following body areas - nasal septum, neurosurgery, intestine, stomach, skin, gall bladder, liver, spleen, blood vessels, nerves, alba linea, uterus, fallopian tube, ovary and testicles - while restoring the normal function of the body organ or tissue. Surgeons tell us that they are able to reduce the amount of surgery time. The healing is, in their opinion, faster and there is very little scar tissue that you can see with the naked eye. In most instances where it is used, we get a leak-proof bond so there is no leakage.” - Donald S. Robbins

Technology
Communications Equipment

Phazar Corp. (ANTP - NASD)
“A few things have seriously damaged the financial performance of the company over the last three years, but the company still has a relatively strong balance sheet and certainly has had a record of strong historical profits in its core business, which is the antenna products business. We are turning back to that.” - Gary Havene



August 7, 2003

 Healthcare, Services, Consumer Products, Consumer Cyclical, & Technology


Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies

Analyst Interview covering:
Possis Medical, Inc. (NASD: POSS)
Mr. Chad Simmer, CFA
Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard
“In terms of the mechanical thrombectomy market place, Possis Medical is the only company out there now that has an FDA approved device for removing thrombus from the coronary arteries. From that standpoint, I think the company is well positioned. Clearly, one could argue that their primary competition might be drugs rather than other devices. There are other devices that could be used to remove thrombus, although at this point, Possis seems to have the most effective technology.” - Mr. Chad Simmer, CFA, Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard

Services
Communications Services

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX-NASD)
“I think the thing that any investor should walk away with is that our neutral model is proving to be the right business model for outsourced Internet infrastructure and managed co-location services, and this is driving successful growth for our company. The proof points are there in the numbers we have established.” - Peter Van Camp

Services
Business Services

Central Parking Corporation (CPC-NYSE)
“I am back, and I think I know this business better than anyone has ever known the parking business, and certainly better than anyone does today. . . I feel very confident that we will be able to bring this company back to the prominence that it once held and once delivered to stock holders.” - Monroe Carell, Jr.

Consumer Products
Food Processing

High Liner Foods Incorporated (HLF - Toronto)
“We have a sub-category up in Canada of natural portions of products like salmon, sole, cod and haddock, which are lightly coated and flavored. We call that the High Liner Signature line and it has done extremely well in Canada over the last three or four years. We took the best products from that line such as salmon in creamy dill sauce, salmon in roasted garlic and herbs or scallops in a lime salsa marinade and introduced them to the Club Channel. Products like that are very much restaurant quality in nature but very simple to prepare for the consumer. We like to talk about one-step cooking where you set your oven or microwave with a time and a temperature and when the beeper or buzzer goes off, the products are finished. They are not only easy to cook but are very delicious. We took those products and adopted them to the Club Channel and have been selling aggressively to both Costco and Sam’s Club for the last two years. In 2002, our sales were thirty-three million Canadian dollars. That is from a standing start two years ago, so we have had a lot of success there and these products really respond to what consumers are looking for today. They want to eat more seafood but they do not want to take the time or risk involved with preparation. We give them a great tasting product without the worries.” - Henry E. Demone

Consumer Cyclical
Furniture and Fixtures

Mity Enterprises Inc. (MITY-NASD)
“MITY is a small public company, but our growth has consistently outpaced the industry throughout our history.  In an industry where there are not a lot of interesting and new things going on, we have been innovative. We introduced the plastic table and we are getting ready to introduce a new generation of plastic tables. We have a folding chair with six patents and we are focusing on continuing to develop new products to challenge existing products. In an industry that traditionally has been not nearly as growth oriented, we have a focus on that growth. Because of the market that we focus on, we are able to command higher margins. We typically have a 15-20% operating margin, where others in our industry typically are often in the single digits or just over 10% yielding a real opportunity there for investors.” - Paul Killpack

Technology
Software & Programming

Catalyst International, Inc. (OTC: CLYS.OB)
“There are two major areas that set us apart from the competition. One is our unique relationship with and our understanding of ERP environments. Most of our customers today are looking to find ways to better use the large investment they have made in IT infrastructures over the last five years. Because we can completely integrate rather than just simply interface our products into those environments, and because we understand those environments better than anyone else, we can help our customers to grow into these smaller capital investments and significantly improve the ROI (Return On Investment) of larger investments they have made in the recent past. The second thing is we have unique expertise and execution capabilities that cut across multiple products in heterogeneous environments. This allows us to work with our customers to get the best possible performance from their supply chains and thereby better serve their customers through improved delivery, performance and accuracy. We are always out there scanning the environment, looking for what new techniques are available. We are very focused on the success of our customers as our primary objective.” - James B. Treleaven



July 24, 2003

 Technology, Consumer Cyclical, Services, Finance, Healthcare & Mining

Technology
Ultracapacitors

Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (MXWL-NASD)
“Ultracapacitors are a novel energy storage technology.  Three to five years ago, if we went to a battery conference and wanted to talk about the value of ultracapacitors, we would have been the lone voice. Today, ultracapacitors are becoming a standard energy storage option; in fact, numbers of manufacturers are designing them into their applications and there are now worldwide ultracapacitor conferences. Increasingly over the past six to twelve months, companies are coming to us and saying, ‘we now understand the value these devices provide for energy storage applications, and we want to see how we can incorporate them into our system. It has changed from an evangelistic mode of telling them what the technology is to the beginnings of supplying a standard, proven, technology product.” - Richard D. Balanson, Ph.D.

Consumer Cyclical
Supplemental Educational Products

School Specialty, Inc. (SCHS - NASD)
“I think investors should know that we have had a good track record in our five years of being a public company. We have never missed our earnings numbers. We are a very conservative and predictable company. We are in the segment of the education market that is very reliable even when the funding environments get a little rough. We perform, and we are consistent. We have purchased over forty-five companies in the last ten years; there were a couple that didn’t fit us as well that we sold off. We are very good at integration, and we put the companies together and create new value that way. We are at 15% market share and we have a long way to grow; we are about seven or eight times larger that our next competitor. We trade at a relatively low P.E. today, and I think it is a good opportunity for investors right now.” - David J. Vander Zanden

Services
Retail (Department Stores)

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (DLTR-NASD)
“We have a concept that people like, and we have the people, infrastructure and cash in place to continue to demonstrate consistent profitable growth. Further, there is room to grow; we have less than 2,500 stores now, and there is room for five to seven thousand more stores. That growth makes us attractive to investors.” - Bob Sasser

Finance
Insurance

Brooke Corporation (AMEX: BXX)
“Insurance agencies in general have had a difficult time accessing credit because there is not anything tangible to grab onto and liquidate if necessary. In this type of industry it is extremely important that there be a good business model so those revenues keep flowing in. With the assurances of continued revenue flow, which is what a good business model generally provides, then the lending can become more secure. I think the banks that are traditional lenders have backed away from that kind of lending in today’s environment and the nature of the collateral is one of the reasons.” - Robert D. Orr

Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals (OTCBB: RGRX)
“The market itself is segmented because there are many different types of chronic wounds. It is in desperate need of a product that can help promote, repair and accelerate the healing of these wounds, which occur for various reasons.  Some become chronic, as opposed to acute or short-term, due to factors such as aging or if patients have underlying diseases such as diabetes. In these instances wounds do not heal very well or may not heal at all. Patients may have a genetic or autoimmune disorder, or they may be on steroids; all these factors can cause chronic wounds or affect their ability to heal. The market needs a product that can help accelerate the healing of wounds.  In animal models that are designed to mimic the human condition, Tß4 has shown to be quite effective in promoting wound healing and in accelerating the closure of dermal and ocular wounds.” - J.J. Finkelstein

Mining
Exploration and Development

Anatolia Minerals Development Ltd. (ANOU-TSX)
“Several things set us apart from other companies in this sector. We are focused strictly on one very prolific country, Turkey, which has been largely overlooked, and we have the dominant land position for exploration. We have an extremely highly regarded team of exploration professionals, all of which are Turkish. Our local knowledge and expertise allow us to execute things in the right way, and we have been very successful.  Given the quality of our properties and our joint venture with one of the world’s premiere mining companies, I see a lot of potential.  We are well financed, management has significant equity ownership, and there is a lot going for Anatolia.” - Richard C. Moores



July 10, 2003

 Technology, Consumer Cyclical, Consumer Non-Cyclical, Energy, Online Travel & Services

Technology
Scientific & Technical Instruments

Input/Output, Inc. (IO - NYSE)
“Potential investors looking at the company should not see it as just an equipment supplier. They need to put it into the context of what is going on in geophysical imaging. The oil and gas business is driven by technology. Seismic imaging is right at the heart of finding oil and gas. Even though the seismic contracting business has hit a tough time, the demand for oil and gas is still going to go up about 50-60% over the next 15-20 years, even with all the alternate energy sources coming on. Seismic imaging is going to be a critical technology going forward. People who have that technology will be well positioned. Potential investors should put it into the context of the industry and what technologies drive the industry, and they will see it as a real opportunity.” - Robert Peebler

Consumer Cyclical
Auto and Truck Manufacturers

Spartan Motors, Inc. (SPAR: NASD)
“The first thing that people need to look at is the growth opportunity. In our two core markets of RV and emergency rescue, we only have 5% market share and that is in the U.S., which means we have a tremendous amount of opportunity to grow. When they look at our financial performance over the last seventeen years, and our balance sheet and debt-free structure, what that indicates is that as a company, we have been able to work through some very difficult economic situations, yet grow and prosper; 2001 and 2002 are no different. As I look at investment, I try to look at the soundness of the management team and whether their growth is in the future or are they into a mature market. As investors look at us, they see a tremendous amount of room for growth, and they see very sound financial management.” - John Sztykiel

Consumer Cyclical
Recreational Products

Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. (RUS-NYSE)
“RUSS isn’t just selling products. We are selling love, affection and friendship. I recently emailed our employees and sent a picture of soldiers in the gulf war clutching teddy bears. In this changing world, one constant will always be love and affection and wherever there is love and affection, there is a place for RUSS products.” - Angelica Berrie

Consumer Non-Cyclical
Food Processing

Horizon Organic Holding Corp. (HCOW - NASD)
“We think the most compelling reason to be interested in Horizon Organic, is that the brand is in-trend and extendable. The organic food industry has been growing over 20% annually for the last five years and this growth is projected to continue. Our brand is benefiting from that consumer momentum at least as much as the market and will probably benefit more because of the strength of the brand. Consumers have told us that we can take the brand anywhere in the grocery, which means this business can be substantially larger.  In addition, throughout our recent growth, Horizon Organic has demonstrated the ability to perform on a consistent basis in terms of delivering meaningful earnings growth.” - Chuck Marcy

Energy
Oil & Gas Operations

St. Mary Land & Exploration Company (SM - NYSE)
“It is very difficult to predict exactly where that next success is going to come from. However, having very talented people in the field, with decentralized decision making, permitting them to look for opportunities backed by a strong balance sheet, plus a disciplined approach to economics, allows each region to hold its own year-after-year and periodically to achieve a major success. ” - Mark A. Hellerstein

Online Travel
Travel & Hospitality

VRX Worldwide Inc. (VRW – TSX Venture)
“As in all industries there are technology providers and service providers, we’re a little bit of both. We customize third-party software to enable us to deliver the highest quality and best performing content technically possible. This is our competitive advantage and allows us leapfrog ahead of the market by focusing on the end product. In order to provide the best quality and best performing content, our efforts go well beyond the technology and the photography behind our products; it is everything that we do from shooting, to stitching, to editing, to delivery that gives us our full competitive advantage. We have spent the past three years perfecting our processes and the technology. We feel confident that these efforts have created significant barriers to entry for any future competitors.” - David S. MacLaren

Services
Retail/Internet

Stamps.com, Inc. (STMP - NASD)
“We offer a complete service to our customer base. Within the area of printing postage from a home printer, we offer several variations of that. For small businesses that do mass mailings, they have the ability to print directly on envelopes. With a product by the name of NetStamps, you can have the ability to print stamps on a sheet of labels. We have a shipping focused solution that allows you to print 4x6 shipping labels on a plain piece of paper for a package, and simply tape it to the package and hand it to the mail carrier. We also offer an array of office products that compliment the service that we offer, such as scales and envelopes.” - Ken McBride

Technology
Interactive Networks

Axia Net Media Corporation (AXX - TSX)
“Smaller markets have not had any access to anything that looks remotely like broadband or high-performing IP networks. Around the modern world, that has become a social challenge, because if you want to participate in a job or a business that depends on having access to broadband, you have to move to the metropolitan spaces, and even there, the broadband performance leaves something to be desired. The Alberta government concluded that this new next-generation format would allow it to provide a two-pronged solution. One prong would make broadband available in the smaller markets in Alberta and the second prong is that the government itself could get a province-wide network to the critical social services. We came up with a concept that creates a government enterprise wide network, so it is ubiquitously connected.” - Arthur R. Price



June 26, 2003

 Technology, Healthcare, Business Services, Capital Goods & Energy

Technology
Communications & Equipment

Brooktrout, Inc. (BRKT – NASD)
“The uncertain business environment, the weak economy, and general risk avoidance corporations are driving companies to come to Brooktrout.  Many of these corporations are outsourcing technology development to Brooktrout that they have previously developed internally, not just for our technology, but because of the current business environment.” - Eric R. Giler

Technology
Software & Programming

TenFold Corporation (TENF – OTC: BB)
“Ours is the fastest and most cost effective technology for building or replacing very large scale, data base- and transaction-intensive applications. The alternatives, using traditional methodologies, would take hundreds and possibly thousands of man years and would be fraught with failure. There is no other solution that is proven and robust, which provides the speed of development, the quality of application, and the powerful functionality that a buyer really needs. Our technology empowers a brand new kind of business and IT collaboration that entirely changes the way businesses conceive, build, and use applications. The result is applications of higher quality and greater power, built in a tenth the time and a fraction the cost.” - Dr. Nancy M. Harvey

Healthcare
Medical Equipment & Supplies

dj Orthopedics, Inc. (DJO - NYSE)
“A significant number of orthopedic companies are public and the investors that are with those companies have done very well and so I think that makes our space intriguing. Our valuation compared to other companies is substantially lower because of the performance improvement plan we entered into last year. I think that people, who understand that there is an aging and active population out there, can see the future need for our products and a future need for our company.” - Mr. Leslie H. Cross
 
Business Services
Consulting

Netgraphe, Inc. (WWW - TSX)
“What potential investors should know about Netgraphe is that we keep developing new types of revenues. I think we can replicate the Star Academy model for our other sites. This will increase our profitability significantly. We are dominant in Quebec in the employment, dating service, automotive services. We are looking at real estate as well and there are several other opportunities for expansion. Our main business sectors are very profitable and with the coming on-stream of new revenue sources, we should soon be profitable in the area of content as well.” - Bruno Leclaire

Capital Goods
Aircraft Recovery

Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. (BRSI.OB – OTC: BB)
“We are very pleased with how strongly we have been able to build the company. We have a strong balance sheet and great current ratios. We have been able to have nine years of profitability after a bad streak in the early days. We put together nine years in a row, on a pre-tax, pre-bonus basis, where we were pushing a million dollars and after taxes we were still within about $600,000.00 and for a small company like ours that is about ten cents a share.  The P&L is strong, sales are strong, and we have had great revenue growth here over the last several year. A few years ago we had a 60% increase and last year we still had an increase in revenues of about 35%. Even with our most recent quarter, we had an increase of 56% in our revenues. We have just continued to string together stronger and stronger financial performance here for the last several years.” - Mark Thomas

Energy
Coal

Headwaters Incorporated (HDWR - NASD)
“In the ISG business, we have three competitive advantages one is that we have long-term exclusive contracts for the supply of the coal combustion products. We have contracts that are 20-25 years in length and they are exclusive, which gives us access to the supply of these materials that other companies do not have. Secondly, we are the only company with a national distribution system for these coal combustion products. We have over thirty terminals that are strategically located throughout the United States that allows us to distribute the materials directly to our customers. Thirdly, we have a proprietary chemical reagent that improves the quality of the fly ash that we distribute. In our other business, we have intellectual property that covers a unique chemical reagent that is used to treat coal before it is burned and over 50% of the people in this business, use our chemical reagent, and it provides us with a unique and exclusive technology that we apply to coal before it is consumed at the electric utilities.” - Kirk A. Benson

Technology
Digital Media Distribution System™

Musicrypt Inc. (MCT – TSX Venture)
“For potential investors our unique value offering is that we have an unrivaled approach for dealing with the problem of physical distribution of new releases to radio. We do it faster, more efficiently and more securely than traditional methods. It is a win-win situation for record companies as well as radio. It makes their work much easier and less problem prone. As soon as the record labels and radio start using our system, they save time and money.” - John Heaven



June 12, 2003

 Technology, Financial, Basic Materials, Consumer Products, & Healthcare

Technology
Software & Programming

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX - NASD)
“I think that from an investment standpoint, that the stock has not been recognized in terms of the potential upside. Healthcare is at an inflection point; it has to get automated and become more electronic than it is today.  The way to do that is to empower physicians with real-time information delivered at the point of care. That is what our business is all about. We addresses not only the quality issue, but also the cost issue, with applications and technology that works. That’s key to the future of healthcare.” - Glen E. Tullman

Financial
Regional Banks

PremierWest Bancorp (OTC: BB-PRWT)
“The strongest area for our bank is our business lending function. We still do it the old fashioned way of people doing business with people. We have lending limits for each of our lending officers in the branch system. We can give very quick answers to credit requests. We are in an economy in southern Oregon and northern California that is growing contrary to the national market. There are a lot of people moving into this area because of the safety and soundness of the communities north of Sacramento California to south of Eugene, Oregon. - John Anhorn
“One of the keys is hiring the right managers for the markets that we are in. We have to have managers that can function in the community bank environment and give the customers what they want. The hiring of managers with a good attitude is a key portion of the community bank image.” - Richard Hieb

Basic Materials
Forestry & Wood Products

Pope Resources L.P. (POPEZ - NASD)
“You can be the best timberland manager in the world, but if you paid too much for the property, your investment is going to suffer. We have a seasoned management team and have developed a disciplined acquisition approach, both of which will be critical for our new $50 million timber fund. We will also be investing side by side with these third party investors, to both further leverage our own growth capital and to provide superior alignment of interest with our clients.  The fact that we have 112,000 acres of our own timberland also makes us far less dependent on the fee income associated with this timber fund than a company that is purely focused on this business. If they do not consummate transactions, they do not get fees and they cannot pay themselves. We have something unique to offer by combining our extensive timberland management experience with third-party investors looking to participate in this asset class. It is just going to be a function of finding investors out there that match up with our investment philosophy.” - David L. Nunes

Technology
Semiconductors

Brooks Automation, Inc. (BRKS - NASDAQ)
“In terms of excellence, Brooks is in some ways running a different race than our competitors. We do not outsource manufacturing and to us that is one of our core competencies. The ability to transition products from engineering to manufacturing to market readiness, whether it is our design or the customer’s design, requires a commitment to excellence. You need to adhere to a standard of excellence so that you can deliver a high quality product on time, every time at a very competitive price. This industry is technology driven but it is also a very price based industry.  That is where size really matters; as a large company, Brooks can manufacture more cost efficiently while maintaining its standard of manufacturing excellence.” - - Robert J. Therrien

Consumer Products
Motorcycles/Trikes

Lehman Trikes, Inc. (LHT – TSX Venture)
“We are growing as fast as we can but like most companies, growth is expensive and our growth is limited by the financing available to us. We know that growing too fast will kill us, so we have to avoid that. Harley Davidson did some great things and one of the things they proved is that being behind on sales is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a strong marketing tool, which almost feeds on itself. We are just starting to feel that. Harley went through it in 1985 and they are getting to the point where they are getting close to meeting demand. We are at the other end of the spectrum and just starting to have that problem. It has always been a six to twelve week waiting period. This year, in an effort to reduce the time-lines, we asked the dealers to pre-book orders and inventory so we could produce in the off-season and avoid the line-up in the spring. It worked too well. They did pre-book to help us out and what they found was that by having these things on the floor, they moved out even faster. We did this at our dealer meeting in December, and by January, we were sold out until the end of March and by February we were booking August. It was a great idea that worked but it did not solve the problem we initially sought to solve. It increased our sales substantially and made our dealers much more comfortable making orders ahead of time, which I am sure will be a benefit to us in the following year. But it has made the lines and waiting period even longer, which may be an advantage or a disadvantage depending upon how you look at it.” - Larry Strilchuk

Healthcare
Biotechnology & Drugs

Cypress Bioscience, Inc. (CYPB - NASD)
“The message that we always hope investors will take away is that fibromyalgia is a real medical condition and that there are criteria for its diagnosis. It is a condition that is treatable and the compound that we have selected has a pharmacological profile that is very similar to some of the drugs that are currently being used. These very old drugs are called tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) that have the same sort of preference for Norepinephrine with some Serotonin activity as milnacipran. But these TCA drugs are riddled with side-effect problems because of all the other activity that they have. We selected a compound that is similar pharmacologically to the positive aspects of these drugs that have been already demonstrated to work in fibromyalgia and in some of the other functional somatic syndromes, but lacks the side-effect profile. The promise of the compound goes beyond fibromyalgia. I think sometimes people looking at the company and the compound do not quite realize the full potential and opportunity that the compound holds.” - Sabrina Martucci Johnson

Technology
Broadband

Andersen Group, Inc. (ANDR - NASD)
“As we go forward in Russia, we are looking for a prosperous country, which is developing a thirsty middle class; one that constantly wants more equipment. The Russian opportunity is great and the issues dealing with Russia are also very complex. At this point, with the present stable government, many companies are feeling confident about investing in Russia. Broadband has been a huge success as far as it being an effective delivery system for Internet and multiple television services and for telephony; and we are able to deliver last mile connections and pass a home for about fifty-five dollars. Support band is a very well known way of distributing media and has been very successful throughout the world and should be very successful in Moscow.” - Francis E. Baker


 

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