ECO2 Plastics Closes $10M in Financing and Prepares to Deploy its Eco-Friendly Recycling Process Worldwide
06 Februar 2007 - 3:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
Unlike Competitors, ECO2 Claims Minimal Impact on the Environment,
Eliminates the Use of Water, Respects the Environment, and Delivers
the Highest Quality Recycled Plastic Flake SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 6
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ECO2 Plastics (the "Company" and formerly
ITEC Environmental Group, ITEC.OB), the eco-friendly recycling
Company that is changing the way plastics are recycled worldwide,
today announced that it has closed its convertible debenture
financing round (the "Financing") of $10 million. ECO2 Plastics is
now fully capitalized, having raised $13 million, $3 million of
which was announced previously. The Financing included an
investment by Roaring Fork Capital SBIC, L.P., and investments by a
number of high net worth investors, a certain number of whom were
introduced to the Company by KW Securities Corporation. The
Financing will be used to ramp up the first recycling plant in
Northern California to full-scale operation and begin development
on a second plant in Southern California. ECO2 Plastics is pursuing
a strategy of owning and operating plastic recycling plants
worldwide. The Company's proprietary technology positions ECO2
Plastics as the lowest cost, highest quality producer of recycled
plastic flake in the industry, deploying an innovative process,
which delivers significantly improved financial performance while
minimizing environmental impact. "With its unique technology,
strong management team, compelling business model, and commitment
to revolutionizing recycling, ECO2 Plastics is an outstanding
addition to Roaring Fork's portfolio of investments," said Eugene
McColley, co-founder and Managing Partner, Roaring Fork Capital
Management. "We see tremendous potential for ECO2 Plastics and are
excited to play an important role through its next stage of
growth." ECO2's typical recycling plant can produce 9,000 lbs. of
clean plastic flake per hour. A similarly sized water-based plant
consumes up to 4,500 gallons of water per hour, twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week, then disposes the water, chemical
contaminants, paper and plastic residue back into the environment.
ECO2 uses no water and delivers the same high quality recycled
plastic flake without the waste or chemicals found in existing
water-based processes. "ECO2's goal is to establish its clean
technology as the standard for all plastics recycling in the United
States and ultimately worldwide," said Rod Rougelot, CEO of ECO2
Plastics. "With this Financing we have a strong balance sheet and
an aggressive growth plan that will drive the Company through its
next stage of growth. We believe that 2007 will be the year that
plastic recycling truly exhibits its potential through fiscally and
environmentally sound operating practices." ECO2's patented and
patent-pending recycling process enables the Company to be the
lowest-cost producer of recycled plastic flake, affording it the
highest profit margins. The Financing, combined with ECO2's higher
profit margin per pound, positions the Company to grow rapidly,
invest in the state-of-the-art equipment, and ride out commodity
market cycles, even in volatile market conditions. "As the only
recycling solution that does not use water or pour harmful
pollutants down the drain, ECO2 Plastics has the technology to
change the way plastic is recycled worldwide," said Lawrence A.
Krause, Principal of KW Securities Corporation. "We are pleased to
have the opportunity to deepen our financial and business
relationship with the Company." About Roaring Fork Capital Roaring
Fork Capital SBIC, L.P. is a Denver-based licensed SBIC with
offices in Colorado Springs, CO and Dallas, TX. The firm focuses on
addressing an underserved and highly inefficient portion of the
equity capital spectrum -- orphaned microcaps. Defined as public
companies with market capitalizations of $140 million or less,
these companies have been neglected by the financial community.
Roaring Fork Capital's management team includes Eugene McColley,
co-founder and Managing General Partner, James T. Rothe is a
co-founder and Managing Director, and Michael Machens, partner.
About KW Securities Founded in 1980 by Lawrence A. Krause, KW
Securities Corporation specializes in wealth management, and has
participated in more than twenty highly diversified and highly
selective investments in real estate, venture capital, natural
resource drilling, and equipment leasing. About ECO2 Plastics (
http://www.eco2plastics.com/ ) ECO2 Plastics, formerly ITEC
Environmental Group (ITEC.OB), is a publicly traded company engaged
in PET plastic recycling. The Company's patented and patent-pending
process was developed through a research partnership with Honeywell
FM&T and the US Department of Energy. ECO2 Plastics is the
exclusive worldwide licensee of the technology. The Company
operates a recycling plant in Riverbank, California and another
plant is currently under development in Southern California. ECO2's
approach sets it apart from competitors that deploy water-based
recycling processes. Unlike other recyclers, ECO2's process
eliminates the use of water, respects and preserves the
environment, while delivering the highest quality recycled plastic
flake with up to a 50% lower operating cost. ECO2 Plastics is the
only recycling company that can claim (i) that its plastic
recycling technology has a negligible impact on the environment and
(ii) is distinguishable from existing technologies when it comes to
water waste and chemical contamination. Cautionary Warning
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain
"forward-looking statements." In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will,"
"should," "could," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates,"
"believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or
the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. These
forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements
about our market opportunity, our strategies, competition, expected
activities and expenditures as we pursue our business plan, and the
adequacy of our available cash resources. Although we believe that
the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements. Actual results may differ materially
from the predictions discussed in these forward-looking statements.
Changes in the circumstances upon which we base our predictions
and/or forward-looking statements could materially affect our
actual results. Additional factors that could materially affect
these forward-looking statements and/or predictions include, among
other things: (1) our limited operating history; (2) our ability to
pay down existing debt; (3) our ability to retain the professional
advisors necessary to guide us through our corporate restructuring;
(4) the risks inherent in the investigation, involvement and
acquisition of a new business opportunity; (5) unforeseen costs and
expenses; (6) potential litigation with our shareholders, creditors
and/or former or current investors; (7) the Company's ability to
comply with federal, state and local government regulations; and
(8) other factors over which we have little or no control.
DATASOURCE: ECO2 Plastics CONTACT: ECO2 Plastics, +1-415-885-8049,
or Web site: http://www.eco2plastics.com/
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