Mirenco Seeks to Expand Business Worldwide 

Radcliffe Iowa Local Creates Business With Worldwide Potential

Times-Citizen
Cheryl L. Dieter, News Reporter

Radcliffe, IA - During the last big energy crisis in the mid 1970s, Radcliffe resident Dwayne Fosseen decided that something needed to be done to increase fuel efficiency and decrease air pollution, so he began to look at different ways to conserve fuel. Because he grew up on a farm, Fosseen believed that ethanol would be the new fuel of choice because it would burn cleaner and it would also be beneficial for the agricultural community.
"I was working with alternative fuels and began developing dual fuel-controlling devices so that you could run two fuel systems simultaneously. But with fuel prices at all time lows, it was hard to sell people on alternative fuels. So I began looking at other ways to increase fuel efficiency and cut consumption. That is how this whole company started," explained Fosseen.

The company he is referring to is Mirenco, Inc. which is based in Radcliffe. He formed the company in 1997 as a marketing and distributing company after successfully developing several patents which automatically control throttle position to manage fuel mileage and emissions.

"After receiving the patents, I worked with the Department of Energy (DOE) and applied for a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) grant," Fosseen said. "CRADA is a program that helps small companies get their product from prototype to a unit that can be sold commercially, using government expertise. In fact, the same people who built our defense weaponry built the DriverMax.

According to Fosseen, his company did not directly receive the $100,000 from the CRADA grant. Instead, it went to pay the salaries of the scientists working on the project. It took a total of 18 months from the time he received the grant until he had a finished design. At that point, the DOE turned over the first three units and the software they had developed to be used with the device. With the DriverMax now in hand, Fosseen set up Mirenco Corporation and began issuing stock to private investors in the state of Iowa.

"Mirenco was designed to get the company to the point where we feel we can list it with NASDAQ before the end of the century," said Fosseen. "The options we had when DriverMax was developed was to sell the technology and take a chance on someone else trying to take over control and leaving us in the dirt - or to bite the bullet and go into marketing and keep it as an Iowa company with Iowa people."

The DriverMax utilizes a microprocessor which understands and adjusts throttle position. At the present time, the company is testing their units on snowplows in Iowa. They have also outfitted buses at the Grand Canyon. Mirenco is currently working on several agreements and Fosseen believes that they will be putting more units in the Grand Canyon and on buses in other national parks. In addition, the company recently signed a contract with Ontario-based Overland Custom Coach to install the DriverMax as standard equipment on all of their buses. The company is also in the process of setting up their first customer service center in Mexico where the device will be marketed and installed.

"In Europe and Mexico they pay a lot more for fuel than we do, so for the governments and private enterprise, the ability to conserve fuel is more pressing than it appears to be here in the United States at this time," said Fosseen. "In addition, in Mexico, the air quality is so bad that the government is looking for equipment which decreases emissions and that is what our product does. DriverMax has been shown to decrease emissions over 60 percent and decrease diesel fuel consumption by 15 percent. By allowing the throttle to work more efficiently, you can also decrease the amount of wear and tear that the engine experiences.

Besides DriverMax, Mirenco will soon be releasing a new product called EconoCruise. The unit works to manage fuel mileage and emissions in conjunction with information received from the Global Positioning System (GPS) via satellite. The GPS tells the unit where it is located and calculates factors such as vehicle speed and headwinds. The EconoCruise then compares this information to what is in its memory and feeds the optimal throttle position to the engine itself. As Fosseen explains it, the unit "looks" ahead to determine if the vehicle will be picking up speed as in the case of downgrades or decreasing speed in the case of hills. Last month, the company mapped out every 100 feet of Interstate 35 from Kansas City to the Iowa State Capitol. On September 17, the device will make its inaugural run using a local trucking company and the information that was stored on the computer during last month’s mapping.

"For the first time in history we will be able to manage the throttle straight from a satellite. From there [the satellite], information will be sent back to the computer and to the throttle in order to control emissions and conserve fuel," said Fosseen. "I envision that someday soon the device will be available on all cars coming off of the assembly line."

This isn’t Fosseen’s first business venture. At one time he designed and manufactured 250,000 door handles for the International Tractor. He also designed and built a utility tray for a John Deere tractor that is sold through a distributor.

"I think one of the keys to success when you are starting up a company is to always think positive and set high goals for the business," said Fosseen. "One of my goals is that I would like to see a lot of people benefit from what we are doing. I am intending to build our headquarters in Radcliffe and staff it with engineers and top-notch sales personnel who will receive high dollar wages compared to other jobs in the area. The other thing I have planned is we know that as we grow as a company and branch off into other products, we will need to contract with other companies to make our products. I am looking at the small communities in the area that supported the company and we will be attempting to get what we need produced locally. I feel that it is our obligation that we give apart of our good fortune to the rural communities in Iowa." 

About Mirenco

Mirenco is a Radcliffe, Iowa-based Company that specializes in patented vehicle management technology and consultative services for reducing vehicle emissions, improving fuel economy and lengthening the service life of heavy-duty diesel vehicles.  More information is available at www.mirenco.com, or via e-mail at info@mirenco.com or by calling 800.423.9903.

Some of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature.  Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements.  Additional information concerning Mirenco, Inc. can be found within Mirenco's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Statements in this release should be evaluated in light of this additional information.

Contact Information:
Dwayne Fosseen
fosseen@mirenco.com
800-423-9903