Greetings,
I was in New Zealand in January visiting the
EcoCover plant in Auckland and have a whole list of
news items, will try to keep it short.
EcoCover receives a glowing (or is it
growing?) endorsement
The New Zealand city of Waitakere
touts itself as
the most environmentally and sustainably oriented
city in the country and their city government walks
the talk. They have been using EcoCover
biodegradable organically certified mulch mats for
several years in their community plantings,
landscaping and gardens.
Read the endorsement here.
Ready to try EcoCover?
Over the past 12 months we have had a number of
folks in the USA and Canada inquire regarding
purchasing EcoCover mulch mat either in rolls or in
squares. If you are interested in trying EcoCover
this Spring, please email me with the quantity and
dimensions you want and we will see if we can
generate enough scale to economically bring in a
shipment by sea. We will provide price information
as soon as we determine the total volume. A reply
by February 21 will be appreciated, thanks. Email
ron.castle@ecocover-america.com. FYI,
EcoCover is
presently being used in Georgia and Texas and we
will try to get some feedback for you.
New product developments
EcoCover has developed a new
biodegradable pin
which will replace steel staples (like a sod staple)
used to hold the EcoCover mulch mat to the ground.
The pin is made from all organic ingredients and
will be organically certifiable. The molding die is
in the final stages of development. The pins have
been manufactured in small quantities.
Click here to see what the new EcoPin™ looks like.
The good news is that the pin is less than half the
price of steel and the materials from which the pin
is made should be price stable compared to steel.
Commercial nurseries and greenhouses that grow
plants in containers will be interested in a new
idea:
EcoPotTops. A large commercial
nursery and home and garden center chain in the
Sydney, Australia area has ordered a sizeable
quantity of round EcoCover discs in various sizes
for their growing operations.
Benefits include:
-
Weed control
-
Water conservation (they water every day)
-
A low level of organic nutrients will be
supplied from the fertilizer in the mat - NPK =
6-3-3
-
Soil temperature moderation
-
Reduced plant mortality
-
It's organic, mate! And you can plant it when
you set the plant out.
EcoPotTops can be supplied in any size, round or
squares. The small ones also make great beer
coasters?
Prospective plant purchaser looking
for a minority equity investor
A prospective EcoCover manufacturing plant purchaser
is looking for an investor interested in a 20-30
percent ownership in an EcoCover manufacturing plant
to be located in the Southwestern or Western United
States. The principal party will be an
owner-operator and plans to manage the business
hands on. If you are interested in knowing more,
please email me and I will arrange an introduction.
The window of opportunity is less than 6 months,
could be sooner. Email
ron.castle@ecocover-america.com.
"Mucking In": EcoCover is on
television (again)
In mid January, EcoCover was appointed the official
supplier of mulch and weed mat to the New
Zealand hit TV series "Mucking In" which airs on TV
One during prime time. "Mucking In celebrates the
unsung heroes amongst us, the people who quietly
work away in the background helping those who need a
little extra." The show features total home and
garden makeovers. Mucking In has 7 more gardens to
complete the series, most will involve supplies of
EcoCover mulch mat. This is a highly prestigious
appointment that will help spread the EcoCover story
far and wide in New Zealand.
Worldwide interest in EcoCover
Interest in EcoCover is coming from all points on
the globe. We have parties with interest in Europe,
the UK, South Africa, Australia, Thailand, the USA,
Canada and elsewhere. The idea of long term
sustainability is starting to sink in and the idea
of manufacturing an organically certified
biodegradable product made mainly from waste paper
with both production and markets close to home is
gaining favor.
Want to know more
about why EcoCover and sustainability go hand in
hand? Visit
http://www.earth-policy.org and
read Lester Brown's new book
Plan B 2.0
and his previous book
Outgrowing the
Earth. When you read about Lester's
research and the developing trends in agriculture,
you will realize what a forward thinking idea we
have in EcoCover.
If you know sustainability, you know
Hunter Lovins?
Hunter Lovins is the president of
http://www.natcaping.com coauthor of
"Natural Capitalism" and one of the most
sustainability savvy folks on the planet, named
"Hero of the Planet" by Time Magazine in 2000. I
met Hunter at the Engineers for a Sustainable World
conference in Austin in October 2005 and introduced
her and her staff to EcoCover. Hunter will be
speaking in New Zealand and Australia in June 2006
and is making
plans to visit the EcoCover plant in Auckland.
Visit Hunter's web to learn more about the critical
importance of sustainability and her consulting and
speaking services.
Preparing the North American market
As mentioned in a prior newsletter, we now have 50
EcoCover websites online in the USA,
www.ecocover-alabama.com and every other state
name (separated by hyphens). These websites are
mainly about finding buyers for EcoCover plants but
the product is also prominently featured. If you
search on Google for organic mulch Alabama or pick
your state you will find in almost all cases we are
on page one in the top 5 listings.
As soon as an EcoCover plant purchaser buys a
manufacturing plant, a website will be immediately
available to target the buyer's approach to the
market. We are ready to hit the ground running and
the internet is the least cost and most immediate
way to do that. We are ready when you are.
If you are interested
in the EcoCover manufacturing plant opportunity,
please contact me. Or, if you know of someone who
would be interested, please contact me to discuss.
