Toronto, Ontario – Xylitol Canada Inc. announced that Andrew Reid, founder and former chief executive officer of the Company, has been retained by the Company as President of Plant Development with respect to the Company’s xylose plant building initiatives.
Mr. Reid said, “I’ve stepped down from the position as CEO and director of the Company in order to focus my time and efforts on our goal of building the first-of-its-kind xylose facility from sustainable biomass in Canada.”
Mr. Reid went on to state that, given the changing needs of the company’s maturing product division, which has grown from less than CDN $0.5 million in fiscal 2010 to well over CDN $8 million in fiscal 2014, “I recognise the importance of bringing in a CEO who is well versed in the natural sweetener and product markets and business in order to continue to maximise the company’s product division over the coming years.” Year over year consumption of natural sweeteners is growing at approximately 22 per cent per annum, and management of the company sees the increasing ability of the consumer to educate themselves on healthy choices and products, as well as the ongoing trends towards healthy living, will continue to grow the natural sweetener market for the foreseeable future. Xylitol has been called a “super food” and is a frequently chosen product in the natural sweetener market.
Mr. Reid closed by noting that “start-up businesses are extremely hard to build at any time, but doing so while running two separate divisions requires a lot of effort from many individuals of the highest quality. I’m pleased to be able to focus now on what I’m passionate about and I look forward to dedicating myself to the company’s xylose plant building efforts.”