AERT Keeps Slow but Steady Progress

Headlines for Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc. in Springdale were mostly positive in 2001. The company, which manufactures a line of composite building products from recycled polyethylene plastic and waste wood fiber, reported black net income figures during the third quarter of 2001— up from a $427,000 loss during the comparable period of 2000. AERT’s decking products now stock the shelves at Lowes.

Recently, AERT dismissed Enron-entangled accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLD, hiring instead Tulsa-headquartered Tullis Taylor Sartain & Sartain as its auditor. However, in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, AERT co-CEO Joe Brooks said that the change of auditor didn’t stem from any accounting disagreements or particular errors.

On Thursday, March 28, the company planned to file its annual report on Monday, April 1. Although AERT administrators didn’t return calls from the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, unaudited figures showed yearlong sales increased to a record high of $34 million, up 20 percent from $28.3 million in 2000.