Company's new bid to shrug off past

By FIONA ROTHERHAM

Delisted Hamilton-based technology company Power Beat International is on the comeback trail.

Forgive its long disenchanted shareholders for the feeling of deja vu.

The company is hiring new staff and proceeding with its long-heralded expansion into the United States with the listing on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board of its Delaware-registered subsidiary, Powerbeat Technologies.

The turnaround in the company's financial woes came last year with the investment by Warehouse head Stephen Tindall into its Deep Video Imaging technology, designed to give a three-dimensional effect on television and computer screens.

This money enabled Power Beat to repay an overdue $1.1 million loan to Auckland company Dorchester Finance and further develop the Deep Video Imaging technology.

Power Beat's managing director, Peter Witehira, said: "Mr Tindall is learning a lot about technology at the moment, learning fast how to make and lose money on this stuff."

Mr Tindall holds a 44 per cent stake in Deep Video Imaging Ltd, the company holding the intellectual property rights. The inventor, American Gabriel Engel, holds 12 per cent and Power Beat the remaining 44 per cent.

Mr Witehira has been dropping the Tindall name right, left and centre. But Mr Tindall's investment was covered by a confidentiality agreement and he is unimpressed by the use of more than just his money to bolster the company.

"We helped get them out of a hole because we believe there is a lot of potential with the actual product. But I am bound by confidentiality and he is, too," said Mr Tindall.

Ironically, Mr Witehira said his new open-doors approach to reporters followed advice from Mr Tindall.

Faced with questions on the company and its rocky past, the former policeman turned inventor is still terse. Move on to the company's technology and he visibly relaxes. This is his passion.

New Zealand investor interest in new technology has changed, said Mr Witehira. Until now Power Beat has relied on overseas investors for licensing and manufacturing its technology.

He still thinks the Americans have a broader understanding and desire to be involved. Hence the plans to set up an office in Connecticut. The expansion will be financed by the private placement of 20 per cent of Powerbeat Technologies shares with wealthy Americans, raising up to $US5 million ($10.17 million).

Advice is being sought from American consultants on whether to list Power Beat International on the over-the-counter market also, or attempt a relisting in New Zealand despite past turmoil with the Stock Exchange.

Power Beat and its pugnacious boss have had a troubled history since it went public in 1989.

Mr Witehira has retained control of the company despite a succession of shareholder ructions and boardroom battles.

The New Zealand Stock Exchange suspended the company's shares in 1995 for failure to comply with the listing rules. It then delisted the company a year later because it was not satisfied trading would take place on a fully informed basis.

Also that year Mr Witehira successfully defended Securities Act charges that he misled shareholders by signing a company registered prospectus knowing it contained an untrue statement.

Insider trading probes and a raft of litigation have followed.

"There was always going to be court cases and always will be around this type of operation, because it has been led by someone who has fight in him," said Mr Witehira. "If you did not have fight in you, you would never survive."

He blamed the Asian crisis for the company's most recent cash-flow problems as licensees failed to pay up on time. Despite this, he rejected a 1998 bid by former Pacific Retail Group executives Roger Bhatnagar and Greg Lancaster for the intellectual property of Power Beat's never-go-flat battery.

Power Beat hunkered down, selling its electronic assembly line and cutting staff numbers. It secured the Dorchester loan to repay the ANZ Bank, which held a mortgage over the company's plant opposite Hamilton Airport.

Talk of a New Zealand battery plant being built last year by a group of local investors fell through.

If you believe Mr Witehira, the bad days are over.

The embattled founder has faith the company can hit a home run.

In American technology-speak this means inventing a product that takes the mass consumer market by storm. To date, Power Beat has either struck out or made it around only a couple of bases.

But it has a surprisingly long list of inventions, from self-watering planters to plastic hot drink cans for cars to high-speed mass ordering systems.

It has pulled in about $15 million in licensing agreements since its inception, said Mr Witehira.

He is confident the company has "a couple of home runs" now under development. For commercial sensitivity reasons, these inventions are being kept secret.

One of New Zealand's problems had been companies preaching the idea they had to develop niche markets to be successful, he said, which limited their ability to hit the home run.

"We develop a large number of consumer-oriented products and if we hit just one of these home that will be of enormous benefit to this country."

Power Beat is best known for its first product - the never-go-flat battery Mr Witehira invented in 1987.

He built a crude prototype of the intelligent automotive battery in the garage of his former Browns Bay home, using, among other things, parts of conventional batteries he had cut open with a hacksaw.

The battery was pulled off the New Zealand market last year because of manufacturing problems in the Middle East.

Mr Witehira said these problems had been overcome with input from Power Beat. The batteries are under production in the Middle East by Gulf Power Beat and in Malaysia by Rial Dirham, the company with a 10 per cent stake in Power Beat which is said to owe more than $2 million for licensing rights.

The batteries are due to go back on sale here mid-year.

The aim is for Power Beat to retain intellectual property rights in new inventions and to sell the licensing and manufacturing rights. But it is not a hard-and-fast rule, depending on the investor and state of cash flow.

Power Beat is moving to manufacture and export its extruded Alux engines. They are lighter but stronger than conventional car engines. A licensing deal has been signed with a Singapore company for the motor in Asia.

Power Beat considers about one idea for a new invention each month. Most are rejected.

A rigorous process is conducted before any idea is developed into a prototype. This involves assessing whether the idea is practical, if it is revolutionary, meets a need, can be produced in volume and is economical and energy-efficient.