Shares in underground mapping technology specialist ProStar [TSXV: MAPS] are on the move, trading up over 57% since April. Stock jumped off the 16 cents level in mid-April to close in Canada at 33 cents on Friday. Shares are already trading at a 52 week high.
ProStar made its name as a provider of data for engineering companies seeking a more accurate picture of underground infrastructure, especially in the North American market. The company announced a new private placement at the end of last week, at a price of 30 cents per unit on a bundled offering of shares and warrants. Pro Star said it was aiming to raise CAD 2.5m via the placement.
ProStar’s proprietary PointMan technology is offered as a Software as a Service (SaaS) and seamlessly connects engineers in the field with their offices and provides them with the ability to precisely capture, record, display, and manage critical infrastructure, including pipelines, and utilities.
Some of the largest entities in North America have adopted ProStar’s precision mapping solutions, including Fortune 500 construction firms, Subsurface Utilities Engineering (SUE) firms, utility owners, and government agencies. ProStar has strategic business partnerships with the world’s leading geospatial technology providers, data collection equipment manufacturers, and dealer networks.
ProStar has made a significant investment in creating a vast intellectual property portfolio that includes several issued patents in the United States and Canada. The patents protect the methods and systems to digitally capture, record, organise, manage, distribute, and display the precise location of critical infrastructure, including buried utilities and pipelines.
Ski resort deal
Last month ProStar announced its latest commercial deal, as the Village of Taos Ski Valley adopted ProStar’s PointMan solution for its underground infrastructure emergency rapid response. The resort faced an unexpected early closure during the 2022-2023 ski season due to emergency water leaks in their system.
The unfortunate incident was exacerbated by the lack of accurate location data of its highly complex buried utility network, a common issue in mountain resorts. The premature water shutdown impacted both the ski resort and the village residents. To help mitigate future disruptions to business operations and its residents, the resort has adopted PointMan to precisely map its underground infrastructure, minimising the impact of any future incidences.
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New patent granted in Canada
On the patents front, ProStar confirmed in April that Canadian Patent No. 3,114,919, prepared and prosecuted by Lewis Roca, has been granted to the company. The patent is directed to a mobile device designed to collect digital utility asset data, including location data, in a more timely and efficient manner which helps to prevent damages to utilities and the environment during critical infrastructure construction, repair, and groundbreaking activities.
The patent covers a portable electronic device for utility data collection. The portable device may be a mobile phone, a laptop computer, a locator, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) and includes an antenna; and a data collection device to detect a signal from an installed utility asset. A location-determining device is coupled to the data collection device for determining a location of the installed utility asset.
Listen: Podcast with Page Tucker, CEO of ProStar Holdings