Converted Organics To Build And Operate Vertical Farming Facility In Rhode Island

• Company acquires majority interest in GoLocalProduceRI in all stock transaction
• Will produce $1 million accretive revenue in 2011
• First TerraSphere vertical farming facility in the U.S.

BOSTON, Jan. 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Converted Organics Inc. (Nasdaq:COIN) announced today that the Company purchased the majority ownership interest of the vertical farming entity, GoLocalProduceRI, LLC marking its entrance into the vertical farming industry as owners and operators of what is expected to be the first TerraSphere facilities in the United States.

"The opportunity in Rhode Island is exciting in that it provides both an opportunity to deliver $1 million in sales in 2011 and close to $3 million in 2012 to Converted Organics, and the opportunity to control the project to ensure the prompt development of the TerraSphere business model," says Edward J. Gildea, president and CEO of Converted Organics. "We have to sacrifice some license fee income in 2011 by acquiring the business, but we will more than make up for that with produce sales from the facility." 

Erin Carroll, local operator of GoLocalProduceRI, LLC, adds, "The addition of Converted Organics as majority owner of our project is a great addition to our company. We are confident that their expertise and the additional resources they bring will enhance our ability to offer top quality produce to the New England market."

Approximately 73% of the lettuce consumed in the United States travels an average of 1,500 miles from either Arizona or California, before it reaches the dinner table. Constructing a TerraSphere facility in the Northeast, which will produce various types of lettuces, will eliminate harmful carbon emissions caused by extensive transportation while providing a year-round supply of fresh, local and sustainable produce to New Englanders. The GoLocalProduceRI vertical farm will be a flagship facility for TerraSphere Systems in the United States, and is expected to be operational in June of 2011.

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