ENGlobal is a specialty engineering services firm specializing in oil and gas automation solutions, subsea control systems and engineering and construction projects. The company offers its vast suite of reputable services through its Automation and Engineering business segments, which service the upstream, midstream, downstream, alternative energy and government sectors.

ENGlobal’s Automation segment provides a wide range of services related to the design, fabrication and implementation of distributed control, instrumentation and process analytical systems. The Engineering (EPCM) segment specializes in consulting services for the development, management and execution of projects requiring professional engineering, construction management, and related support services. Within the Engineering segment, ENGlobal’s Government Services group provides engineering, design, installation and operation and maintenance of various government, public sector and international facilities, and specializes in the turnkey installation and maintenance of automation and instrumentation systems for the U.S. defense industry.

ENGlobal also operates its Subsea Controls and Integration (SCI) group, which houses the company’s patented Universal Master Control Station (UMCS), a technology co-developed with a major global oil company that recognized an important need in the offshore oil and gas industry.

In offshore oil and gas projects, subsea equipment vendors are responsible for the topsides (the upper half of an offshore oil platform) subsea controls component. In developments with multiple vendors, operators work with multiple topsides subsea controls components, creating the need for an integrated solution to streamline operations. ENGlobal’s UMCS is emerging as an ideal solution for many subsea projects of this nature.

ENGlobal’s UMCS includes standardized and secure communication interfaces between major vendors of subsea equipment, distributed control systems and topside equipment, providing seamless integration of critical control execution and data monitoring. Because UMCS takes less time to build and interface with topside systems and components, the solution offers savings in design and acceptance testing. The technology monitors and controls subsea control pods at the wellhead from multiple subsea equipment providers without disturbing the subsea vendor’s innate communication protocol.

ENGlobal previously reported that UMCS has effectively cut engineering time by 80% in terms of system and design fabrication, software development, human machine interface graphic creation, subsea communications interface, and EPU/HPU interface – this capability makes UMCS one of ENGlobal’s many market leading solutions in the broader automation and engineering industry.

For more information, visit www.englobal.com

Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. (OTCQB: SBOTF), a leading provider of keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) protein, yesterday announced a collaboration agreement with Ostiones Guerrero SA de CV that will allow Stellar to greatly expand its KLH production capacity in the future. Through this agreement, the two businesses will utilize their considerable expertise in marine-based industries in order to design and develop an environmentally-sustainable KLH production facility in Baja California, Mexico. Through the construction of this facility, Stellar will gain exclusive access to an additional site for hatchery and maturation of keyhole limpets, as well as production of KLH.

“This collaboration has far-reaching, positive implications for Stellar,” Frank Oakes, president and chief executive officer of Stellar, stated in a news release. “In addition to the clear operational security offered by a second site, the partnership with Ostiones provides Stellar the opportunity to extend our leadership in the sustainable manufacture of KLH while ensuring protection of a valuable ocean resource and natural habitat.”

Environmental protection is particularly important to the future financial success of Stellar, as the source of KLH protein, the giant keyhole limpet, is native to a limited stretch of the Pacific Ocean coastline. As a result, the company has developed a proprietary harvesting process that does not harm the giant keyhole limpets, ensuring a sustainable production process that can be scaled to meet the consistently rising demands of the biotechnology industry as the clinical use of novel immunotherapies continues to increase.

According to the terms of the agreement, Stellar will be responsible for certain leasehold improvements and construction of structures and utilities at Ostiones’s Baja California facility. Ostiones will provide labor and operational support, as needed, and the two partners expect to enter into a second deal regarding the use of site resources and utilities at a later date.

Through this agreement, Stellar will be in a strong strategic position to capitalize on the forecast market growth for KLH protein. In its fiscal quarter ending March 2015, the company demonstrated the biotechnology industry’s rising interest in its product by posting a 64 percent year-over-year increase in revenue as a result of increased sales volume. For prospective shareholders, Stellar’s foresight in meeting future market demand highlights the quality of its leadership team, as well as the overall marketability of its product. Look for the company to leverage this progress in the coming months, providing a platform for sustainable investor returns moving forward.

For more information, visit www.stellarbiotech.com

According to the most recent published natural gas supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (January 2012), we had technically recoverable resources of around 2,266 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas here in the country, enough to last us more than 92 years at then-current consumption levels. Sustained growth in proved reserves, driven by mounting discoveries primarily from shale exploration, as well as conventional/tight onshore, with coalbed methane and offshore accounting for only a minimal portion, is a clear indicator according to EIA estimates that this healthy buffer of natural gas supply will be maintained for the foreseeable future, so long as we continue exploration and development.

EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2015 projections indicate a considerable increase through 2040 for dry natural gas and gas plant liquids production, with average annual production growth increasing at a faster rate than crude oil and lease condensate by as much as 72 percent, faster than everything in fact, except for renewables. With supply, disposition and price growth figures for natural gas at Henry Hub outstripping other energy sources like coal or oil by nearly a factor of two, it seems inescapable that natural gas will continue to play an increasingly vital role in not only domestic energy consumption, but also the energy export market, where natural gas is projected to enjoy nearly 6 percent growth through 2040, hitting upwards of 4.5 percent by as early as 2020.

None of this is news to Houston-headquartered ENGlobal Corp. (NASDAQ: ENG) of course, which specializes in a wide variety of upstream, midstream and downstream oil and particularly gas automation integration, as well as EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) solutions, via its network of strategically-located facilities around the country. ENGlobal saw solid returns for its automation segment in 2014, with continued levels of spending by the company’s midstream and downstream clientele being a major contributing factor and the company has weathered the storm of lower commodity prices thus far in 2015 as well, even showing considerable appreciation of operating profit margins for its EPCM segment. The secret to ENGlobal’s success is really no secret at all, considering how major industry players continue to seek the company out for their impeccable safety record and ability to achieve full-spectrum design, engineering, construction management and procurement services.

Because natural gas-fired power plants are a clean backdrop source for electrical production, they represent the most obvious solution to addressing the deficiencies of renewables like solar or wind, and can be quickly scaled (unlike nuclear) and fired up when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. The only thing really missing for the natural gas factor in the overall domestic energy equation is the pipeline infrastructure needed to make good use of all our natural gas, as well as the increased LNG/CNG plant capacity needed to ramp up exports, and satisfy increasingly diverse domestic sources of demand. More than $150 billion or more has already been spent on domestic natural gas distribution infrastructure and yet as much as 46 percent of pipeline capacity currently sits idle for a variety of reasons. The most pertinent portion of this idle capacity is due largely (and paradoxically) to stalled development of other pipelines and plants, which are needed to make use of existing infrastructural capacity. A good example of this phenomenon is Pennsylvania, where almost as much as 19 percent of existing wells were idle last year, due primarily to lack of natural gas pipelines needed to tie production in to.

The incredible supply and demand fundamentals in regions like the northeast, highlighted by data points such as around 44 percent of New England’s electrical energy production coming from gas-fueled generators last year, are a major driver behind increased natural gas pipeline infrastructure activity. The announcement last week of an $80 million investment by diversified energy delivery giant UIL Holdings (NYSE: UIL) in Kinder Morgan’s (NYSE: KMI) Northeast Energy Direct interstate pipeline project – which seeks to put down some 200 miles of new transmission lines, leveraging the Marcellus shale fields of Pennsylvania in order to bring gas to northeastern markets in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York state – is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ongoing and necessary infrastructural development.

A great deal more of such development is needed to connect existing and emerging fields to energy markets throughout the U.S. and ENGlobal is banking on being one of a handful of unquestionably trustworthy providers of the crucial automation integration and EPCM work needed to realize the necessary objectives. The announcement earlier this year by midstream company ONEOK Partners (NYSE: OKS), that they suspended development on the Demicks Lake gas processing plant designed to service the Williston Basin, as well as two others due to commodity market conditions and subsequently foreseen lack of natural gas volume growth, hasn’t stalled the associated Demicks Lake pipeline from MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU), which is now in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission environmental assessment.

ONEOK, which is in a position to quickly resume these projects when market conditions improve, based its rationale for halting plant development to some degree on pure logistics, and the lack of natural gas production volume growth. Even at lower prices, the Demicks Lake facility, as well as ONEOK’s Knox plant in Oklahoma and the Bronco plant in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, are absolutely necessary when one looks at the broader national energy demand picture. However, the aforementioned lack of a truly robust domestic network of pipelines has forced regions like the northeast into using gas-powered generators. Ironically, one of the major factors in stalling the development of national pipeline infrastructure, which has led to the use of environmentally unfriendly gas and diesel generator usage increases in the northeast, has been protest by environmental groups.

The real underlying problem is throughput itself and ENGlobal has shored-up its operational footprint in order to be ready to capture demand, operationally delimiting bottom line impact due to falloff in upstream related orders, and rounding out its Q1 (ended March 28) with a healthy cash position of $24.4 million, $5.1 million in notes receivable collected after the end of the quarter, and zero borrowings under its current credit facility. Leaner and meaner, with a more focused operation, lower overhead costs and a significantly reduced project risk profile, ENGlobal is well-positioned to capitalize on sustained infrastructure demand, especially as we round the corner towards fall and winter months. ENGlobal’s full-spectrum project delivery capabilities, as well as elements like its Government Services group specializing in turnkey automation and instrumentation systems for global U.S. defense industry interests, make the company a real contender in this environment. Investor’s should keep a close eye on ENG as we head towards the exit on this year’s summer natural gas storage injection season. Especially after last year’s bitter cold weather throughout the U.S., which led to record-breaking natural gas withdrawals.

Learn more about ENGlobal by visiting www.englobal.com

1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLWS) has remained the world’s leading florist and gift shop for nearly four decades by consistently delighting customers through the delivery of fresh flowers and gifts for every occasion. The company promotes industry-leading customer satisfaction through its unique 100% Smile Guarantee®, which ensures that every gift meets and exceeds the expectations of the recipient. FLWS’s commitment to excellence also applies to its employees, as the company was recently named as a winner of the 2015 “Best Companies to Work for in New York State” award by the New York Society for Human Resource Management.

The gifts offered by FLWS include a diverse collection of popular brands – including The Popcorn Factory®, Cheryl’s®, Fannie May®, 1-800-Baskets.com®, FruitBouqets.com, Stock Yards® and FineStationery.com®, as well as recently-acquired gourmet food gift brand Harry & David®. This extensive product catalog gives the company access to a wide variety of gift markets that meet the diverse needs of consumers. In recent months, FLWS has leveraged the marketability of this portfolio to post strong financial growth. During its fiscal third quarter ending March 2015, the company recorded a 29.3 percent year-over-year increase in total revenues and attracted approximately 815,000 new customers, reaffirming the viability of its aggressive acquisition strategy.

“During the fiscal third quarter, we saw solid performance across all of our business segments,” Jim McCann, chief executive officer of FLWS, stated in a news release. “As we continue our integration of Harry & David, we plan to build on this by leveraging our business platform, our growing family of gift brands and the millions of customers we serve across all of our business channels.”

In addition to its consumer offerings, FLWS operates BloomNet®, the leading floral industry service provider. Through BloomNet, the company provides personalized service and quality products to local retail florists across the nation and around the planet, giving FLWS strategic access to the performance of hundreds of local florists and successfully adding to its extensive global market share.

The company’s unique combination of diverse product offerings, industry-leading customer service and developed market presence makes FLWS an intriguing investment opportunity for prospective shareholders. Look for the company to lean on its considerable industry expertise in order to promote continued financial growth for the foreseeable future.

For more information, visit www.1800flowers.com

Since opening its first location seven years ago, Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. (OTCQB: GIGL) has consistently demonstrated the immense market demand for a healthy alternative to traditional family-friendly restaurant and entertainment venues. As the first and only restaurant that brings together high-end, organic food with cutting-edge entertainment for children, the company’s concept has been a hit amongst families in its target areas. As a result of this popularity, GIGL has since expanded to three locations throughout Greater Los Angeles, and this success is catching the attention of a growing number of potential franchisees.

“Since opening our first location in Southern California in 2008, we’ve received strong interest from franchisees seeking to take our concept into new markets,” Joey Parsi, founder and chief executive officer of GIGL, stated in a news release. “While franchising has always been a component of our long-term growth strategy, we chose to establish a strong foundation… by initially focusing on perfecting our experience at company-owned locations.”

Despite the company’s reluctance to commit to franchise locations early in the development of its concept, GIGL’s recent performance in the competitive Los Angeles market has driven expanded interest in franchise opportunities. According to its news release, the company has received interest from franchise operators in nearly every major U.S. city, as well as those in international markets – including Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Though GIGL hasn’t yet agreed to any franchise locations, increasing interest has pushed the company to estimate the potential financial benefits presented by these opportunities. In particular, GIGL expects to receive licensing fees ranging from ‘several hundred thousand dollars to millions of dollars’, in addition to ongoing royalties of as much as eight percent of gross sales.

“[T]his strategy provides a great complement to our core company-owned growth initiatives,” stated Philip Gay, chief business development officer of GIGL. “Based on my extensive personal experience in senior leadership positions with several highly successful enterprises that have benefited from franchising, I believe GIGL is well-positioned for long-term success in this arena.”

If the company decides to pursue growth through franchising, it will gain improved access to an industry that’s posted strong financial growth in recent years. According to a report by IBISWorld, the domestic chain restaurant market has recorded annual growth of 3.8 percent for the past five years, accounting for approximately $104 billion in revenue in 2014. The report also highlights the importance of franchise agreements to this growth, demonstrating the commercial viability of this proven strategy in the national restaurant industry.

As GIGL continues to weigh the strategic advantages offered by pursuing franchising opportunities, the company is in a strong position to record considerable market growth in the future. For prospective shareholders, GIGL’s innovative and highly marketable restaurant concept provides the company with a platform upon which to promote sustainable returns.

For more information, visit www.gigglesnhugs.com/investor-relations/

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WRIT Media Group, Inc. is a holding company growing its operations within the digital media content industry. The corporation is spreading its reach in this business via two branches. It is fully engaged in content creation via its subsidiary Front Row Networks and in retro video gaming via two other divisions, Amiga Games and Retro Infinity.

Incorporated in 2007, WRIT Media began life as the Writers’ Group Film Corporation. In the beginning, the company produced films, television programs and entertainment programs for diverse media formats then, in February 2011, the California-based company acquired Front Row Networks and, in August 2013, Amiga Games. By creating a synergy with these subsidiaries, WRIT Media has been able to benefit from the increasing demand for interactive digital content and alternative mobile and theatrical content to transform itself into a digital media company. Under the company’s new structure:

• Front Row Networks provides production, distribution and financing of live concerts, music documentaries and family programs for both theatrical and ancillary distribution.

• Meanwhile, the “retro” video gaming division, comprised of Amiga Games and Retro Infinity (another acquisition), publishes classic video games for the latest technological devices (e.g. smartphone, mobile and TV set-top devices) and for a growing audience interested in such games.

From social media campaigns to crowd funding, WRIT Media is employing innovative approaches to bring additional attention to its mobile gaming products and to reinforce its focus on expanding within the digital media industry. With the backing of its managers, who have 100 years of combined industry experience, such inventiveness has helped the company achieve significant milestones, including a $10 million equity line of financing and the acquisition of Amiga Games in 2013.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.writmediagroup.com

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Despite heavy competition from home consoles and mobile gaming systems, the market for combined restaurant/entertainment venues has continued to thrive in recent years. According to a report by IBISWorld, the arcade, food and entertainment complexes industry has experienced consistent growth over the past five years, accounting for approximately $2 billion in domestic revenue in 2014. Latitude 360, Inc. (OTCQB: LATX), through its chain of award-winning upscale dining and entertainment locations, is capitalizing on this industry growth while laying the groundwork for aggressive national expansion.

Latitude’s current portfolio includes three locations in strong markets across the United States – including Indianapolis, Indiana; Jacksonville, FL; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the first quarter of 2015, the company leveraged the marketability of these locations to record a 19 percent year-over-year increase in gross sales. In particular, Latitude had tremendous success in selling specialized membership cards, surpassing 5,000 ‘360x Club’ memberships since the start of the program in the summer of 2014.

In June, Latitude cleared the way for the continued growth of its membership program by teaming with leading consumer management platform Clutch to upgrade the club’s backbone technology. These upgrades are expected to allow the company to more effectively encourage customer loyalty, in addition to serving as an immediate source of added revenue. Industry leaders, including Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY), utilize similar programs to promote repeat visits.

“We’re excited to partner with Clutch to integrate its advanced technology and provide streamlined, cross-channel experiences that deliver valuable entertainment benefits and rewards to our members,” Brent W. Brown, chief executive officer of Latitude, stated in a news release. “Clutch… [has] taken our concept to the next level by providing our guests with exceptional value while driving revenue and trips to our venue.”

The company’s current membership program is split into three unique tiers providing varying levels of benefits based on membership fees. The free ‘VIP’ loyalty program, also known as the ‘Green Membership’, offers redeemable points for purchases made in any of Latitude’s locations. However, benefits are greatly increased for members of the company’s fee-based ‘360x Club’. These members, which can choose between ‘Blue Membership’ and ‘Black Membership’ programs, enjoy access to monthly benefits worth $150 and $300, respectively.

Through the continued development and refinement of its membership club, Latitude is taking significant strides toward enhancing customer loyalty and increasing its market share. As the company continues to expand its network of restaurant/entertainment venues, it is in a strong strategic position to capitalize on the favorable conditions of the restaurant industry while promoting sustainable returns moving forward.

For more information, visit www.latitude360.com

Gas flaring is a fairly efficient method of burning impurities found in raw natural gas and carbon dioxide, but without the proper equipment in place, much of the wasted fossil fuel is expelled directly into the atmosphere – resulting in billions of wasted dollars and detriment to the surrounding environment.

The National Oceanic Administration Association (NOAA) estimates that gas flares pump 400 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere worldwide each year, adversely impacting local populations of human and wildlife, and often resulting in loss of livelihood and severe health issues.

For Houston-based Well Power, Inc., the environmental and economic obstacles are more of an opportunity than a problem. Through a strategic licensing agreement, Well Power has the rights to Texas, along with the first right of refusal on the other U.S. states, to a new technology solution designed to process waste natural gas into “clean power” and engineered fuels. Based on proprietary technology, these Micro Refinery Units (MRU) are mobile, high-yield and can be deployed with minimum capital expenditure.

The MRUs, currently in development, will provide the opportunity to turn a wasted resource into a product of value while at the same time enabling wider access to energy, improved environmental conditions, and economic development for local populations where gas flaring is prevalent – such as North Dakota. By focusing on eliminating legacy flaring and minimizing new flaring, Well Power has an opportunity to assume a vital role in the continual for sustainable resource development and energy efficiency.

Well Power also intends to offer its technology along with full-service engineering, design, construction, modular fabrication, maintenance and construction management services to clients in the upstream areas of exploration and production.

Development of the product is ongoing, with the first MRU expected in the near future.

For more information visit www.wellpowerinc.com

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Investor conferences are a widely popular means for public companies to place themselves directly in front of willing and financially able investors looking for new investment options. With a particular focused on life sciences companies, the Redefining Early Stage Investments Conference (RESI) is coming up in Boston on September 16. RESI conference planners say the Boston event is on track to be RESI’s biggest event thus far, with an expected 600 attendees.

RESI is an ongoing conference series that connects early stage life sciences companies with attending investors, providing opportunities to create relationships that lead to funding. RESI Boston will bring together 200 eager and early stage corporate venture investors, 300 fundraising executives, and 100 service providers for a one day international partnering meeting that gives early stage life science companies the chance to book target meetings with relevant investors.

RESI creates meetings based on a common fit, which promotes compelling conversations, facilitating the development of qualified investor relationships. The RESI Partnering Forum allows fundraising executives to identify and book up to 16 meetings with life science investors who fit their company’s technology sector and stage of development. Presenting companies benefit from a receptive audience ready to hear each company’s story and business model.

Panels, workshops and one-on-one meetings throughout the course of the day create a fast-paced yet efficient atmosphere of productive dialogue, networking, presentations and close investment rounds designed to benefit the showcasing companies as well as investors in attendance.

Boston RESI follows highly successful events in San Francisco and Houston, and features a lineup of sponsors including Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS, Charles River Laboratories, McDermott Will & Emory and Wuxi App Tec.

For more information, visit www.resiconference.com

Insignia Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISIG) is a developer and marketer of innovative in-store products, programs and services that help consumer goods manufacturers and retail partners drive sales at the point of purchase. The company’s at-shelf media solutions are utilized at approximately 13,000 retail supermarkets by an extensive client list of more than 200 major consumer goods manufacturers – including General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), Kraft Foods, Nestle and P&G (NYSE: PG). By helping clients make an impact on the three-second decision cycle of consumers at the shelf, Insignia has thrived in the marketing industry for 25 years.

The company’s latest addition to its marketing portfolio is The Like Machine™, a groundbreaking consumer engagement tool that harnesses the power of social media to reinforce brand confidence and promote increased sales figures. Through the use of this technology, consumers are able to give immediate feedback to store managers and fellow shoppers, opening the door for an improved shopping experience built on the preferences of a particular community. In a six-month limited release, The Like Machine garnered more than 480,000 shopper endorsements, demonstrating the vast market potential for the technology as it approaches full-scale release.

“We have created an easy and immediate way for shoppers to express their opinions about what they’re buying, and to be informed by the decisions of others in their neighborhood at scale,” John Gonsior, president and chief financial officer of Insignia, stated in a news release. “It is a powerful indicator whether shoppers are buying cereal, laundry detergent or orange juice, and a unique new data set for retailers and manufacturers to leverage.”

In the first quarter of 2015, Insignia successfully leveraged the marketability of its product line to promote solid financial growth. The company’s total net sales for the period rose by 2.2 percent from the previous year to $6.5 million. Additionally, Insignia recorded a 0.9 percent year-over-year improvement to its gross profit margin for the quarter, achieving $2.8 million in gross profit. Moving forward, the company will look to build on this financial performance through continued innovation of its core assets as needed to meet the evolving demands of the retail market.

For prospective shareholders, Insignia’s established position within the retail marketing segment could provide a platform for the company to realize sustainable returns in the months to come. Look for Insignia to continue leaning on the versatility of its portfolio of core assets in order to promote continued financial growth for the foreseeable future.

For more information, visit www.insigniasystems.com