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April 5, 2006
Greetings,
Lots happening with
EcoCover that might interest you.
USA Sample
Shipment is in Atlanta
Those of you who
expressed an interest in EcoCover samples will be
pleased to know that the shipment is in Atlanta
today and in the process of clearing Customs. I
will be contacting you next week about delivery to
your location, etc.
EcoCover
EcoCrop™
In previous
newsletters I have talked about the development of a
lower cost shorter life EcoCover mat that will be
suitable for seasonal row crops, The mat has less
waste paper shred in the core and will likely
biodegrade in 4-6 months as opposed to a year or
longer for the standard EcoCover mulch mat.
The issue has been
finding the right glue and after extensive testing
of various alternatives we think we have it. The
new crop mat can likely be manufactured at the rate
of 5 meters per minute as opposed to 3 meters per
minute for the standard mat. We have maxed out the
speed of the manufacturing line in Auckland and are
in the process of installing a new pull drive which
will allow line speeds of greater than 5 meters per
minute.
The bottom
line at the moment:
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At least half the
cost of standard mat, perhaps less than that.
Line speed will make a big difference.
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This product will
be directly price competitive with better grade
plastic films, about 5.5
cents US per square foot
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EcoCover has none
of the environmental or economic disadvantages
of plastic waste disposal
This is, from our
perspective, a huge leap forward in
product diversity, profit opportunity and market
acceptance of EcoCover. More to follow as
development becomes a production reality.
EcoCover
EcoPotTops and EcoPots
EcoCover in Auckland,
New Zealand has provided a large supply of samples
of EcoCover cut into circles and slit to the center
to the largest container nursery grower in the
Sydney, Australia market. Reports on the trials
will be coming next week. Conversations with the
users of the EcoPotTops are all favorable.
Assuming that the
final result will be highly favorable, this single
nursery operator is looking at 3.5 million
EcoPotTops annually for their operation.
EcoCover research
indicates that around the world in developed
economies, there are approximately 3.8 container
grown plants purchased annually per person. This is
true in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Canada and
across Europe. Thus, in the USA with approximately
300 million population, the potential demand for
EcoPotTops is 1.14 BILLION per year. Depending on
size, the selling price might average $0.10 each.
This means that in the USA the market
potential for this product exceeds $100 million in
annual sales. It would take more than
20 EcoCover manufacturing plants
running 2 shifts 48 weeks to supply this single
market.
The next step in
product development is pots made of EcoCover.
Imagine buying your potted plant at the
nursery, taking it home, digging the hole, poking a
few slits in the EcoPot for the roots to escape and
planting the plant, pot and all. No plastic
containers to send to the landfill, nothing to
recycle.
Today, you can buy
round vacuum formed polypropylene pots - 6 Inch -
for about $0.21 each in wholesale quantities. Due
to the rising price of petroleum based products,
plastic pots will continue to increase in price.
EcoCover made into planting pots will have both
environmental and economic advantages and the
opportunity is vast.
There is a lot of
other EcoCover news coming up and I will try to have
another newsletter for you next week as things
develop.
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.
Another plug for my
good friend Lester Brown: Go to
www.earth-policy.org
and order Lester's books Plan B 2.0
and Outgrowing the Earth. You will
then clearly understand why I say.....
The future is EcoCover.
Cheers,
Ron Castle
North American Business Development
EcoCover Developments Limited
Tennessee USA Office
Phone 931 967 2053
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