FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Bonsignori
813-281-0088
727-742-3392 cell
kbonsignori@robertscommunications.com
FLORIDA ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES ITS NAME
Effective October 1, the company will be known as EarthBalance®
NORTH PORT,
Fla. (September 4, 2002) Florida Environmental, Inc. will be
changing its name to EarthBalance® on October 1, 2002 to reflect
its growing geographical base of clients and the expanded service
offerings of the firm, announced Don Ross, Florida Environmental
president/CEO.
Founded
in 1985, the company started by providing environmental consulting
services to its clients from a single office in Port Charlotte.
By 1987, Florida Environmental had added ecosystem restoration
services for selected clients, primarily to fulfill their wetland
mitigation requirements. A native plant nursery in Palmetto
was acquired in 1994 as the company’s demand for native
plants increased. In 1996, a larger native plant nursery was
started in DeSoto County. Eventually, all plant production was
consolidated at the DeSoto nursery.
A period
of rapid revenue growth and expansion began in 1996. That
year
the company opened a branch office in Kissimmee to serve its
Central Florida clients. In 1998, it began working outside
of
Florida with projects in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama
and Mississippi. Demand for ecosystem restoration services
expanded
to include native plant landscaping, especially for golf courses.
Ecosystem
restoration services led the company’s expansion, and by
2001 comprised two-thirds of its services.
In 2002
the company established a Tallahassee office under the leadership
of a well-known environmental leader, Allison DeFoor. DeFoor
had served as Governor Bush’s Everglades Coordinator to
gain legislative commitment for the Everglades restoration project.
Also in 2002, the company expanded its services into commercial
landscaping with the acquisition of an existing operation in
the Tampa Bay market.
Today,
with a staff of over 100, EarthBalance® specializes
in constructing, restoring and managing sustainable ecosystems.
The firm relies on a science-based approach and utilizes
a multi-disciplinary
team of biologists and environmental scientists to design and
implement ecosystem restoration projects. The firm’s
background in helping clients with environmental permitting
and compliance
issues enables it to effectively integrate the often-complex
regulatory considerations usually inherent in any successful
ecological restoration effort.
According
to Don Ross, EarthBalance® president/CEO, “The
name Florida Environmental did not reflect our firm’s
experience and expanded capabilities any longer. We simply outgrew
our name. We do considerable ecological consulting and restoration
work outside of the state of Florida, and we needed a name that
was not geographically limiting,” stated Ross.
The vision of EarthBalance® is to lead the ecosystem restoration industry by developing and implementing solutions that are driven by ecosystem processes. The company utilizes industry-leading technologies for seeding, sprigging and planting vegetative communities for jobs as diverse as beach restoration, wetland construction and native landscaping of golf courses. With native plant and seed production facilities in Florida, experience in multi-million dollar restoration projects and a commitment to ongoing research and development, the company is already on the forefront of the emerging ecosystem restoration industry. EarthBalance® offers the following services:
- native
upland restoration
- wetland
creation
- wetland
mitigation banking
- sea
grass restoration
- exotic
and nuisance plant control
- phosphate
mine reclamation
- landscape
design and installation
- water
supply development consulting
- land
acquisition consulting
- land
management
- resource-based
planning
- project
approval consulting
- Geographical
Information Systems (GIS)
Headquartered
in the Sarasota area, EarthBalance®
has offices in the Tallahassee, Tampa
Bay and Central Florida areas.
The company’s new web site address
is www.EarthBalance.com.
For more information about EarthBalance®,
call 1-888-536-2855.
