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Eco-Products strengthens leadership team with industry veterans
New VP of sales and marketing, new board of directors member bring decades of experience

BOULDER, Colo. (Feb. 11, 2009) — Two industry veterans joined the Eco-Products team this month adding over 50 years of combined food service and packaging experience to the nation’s leading producer of compostable food service ware made from plants. Richard Mills III was named the vice president of sales and marketing, and Michael T. Hastings was nominated to the board of directors. Both men offer their expertise in the food service and packaging industry to rapidly growing Eco-Products, Inc.

“Our company is poised to excel with the institutional knowledge from these gentlemen,” said Steve Savage, president of Eco-Products. “By tapping into Rich Mills’ knowledge of plant-based ‘plastics,’ from his role with our production partner NatureWorks, and by capitalizing on Mike Hastings’ years of cup experience with major industry player Sweetheart, we stand to benefit greatly from their guidance.”

Since 2005, Mills served as marketing manager in food service at NatureWorks LLC, a position he notes as a break in his career pattern of selling traditional petroleum-based packaging. While at NatureWorks, the global leader in bio-based plastic resins made from annually renewable resources such as corn, Mills’ responsibilities included leading business development and marketing-related activities of Ingeo™-based packaging sold through a global supply chain of partners. Today, many of Eco-Products’ lines of renewable and compostable packaging are made from NatureWorks’ biopolymer resins.

Mills began his food service packaging career at Sweetheart Cup in 1990. Through the years, he held various sales and business development positions with industry leaders such as Maui Cup, GRAFCO PET Packaging and Fabri-Kal. He received his bachelor of science degree from Towson State University in Maryland.

As the newest Eco-Products’ board member, Hastings offers an expanse of food service packaging experience. He served as the president and COO of Sweetheart Holdings and Sweetheart Cup from 2001 to 2005. Hastings also held the title of senior vice president of sales and marketing from 1998 to 2001. Prior to joining Sweetheart, Hastings was the president of Fonda, a paper plate manufacturer, which he joined in 1995. From 1990 to 1995, Hastings held the position of vice president of sales and marketing and was a member of the board of directors of Anchor Packaging Co., a manufacturer of institutional films and thermoformed plastic packaging.

As a leader in the nascent biodegradable package industry, Eco-Products sells its compostable items to restaurants, cafes, hotels, sporting arenas and theme parks nationwide. Each product is designed to fully break down and return to nature in 45-120 days in a commercial compost facility. The containers are manufactured from renewable resource-based materials which require less fossil fuel to produce and emit fewer greenhouse gases than conventional, petroleum-based take-out packaging.

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