ArborGen of Summerville, South Carolina, celebrates planting of 10 billionth seedling, equivalent to 20 million acres or land area of its home state

Lorena Madrigal

SUMMERVILLE, South Carolina , November 15, 2011 (press release) – ArborGen, a world leader in the development and commercialization of technologies that improve the productivity of trees for wood, fiber and energy, today celebrated the planting of the company's 10 billionth seedling. During an event at the site of the company's new headquarters, which is currently under construction, company officials were joined by state officials, business leaders and representatives from the surrounding community for a ceremonial planting to commemorate and recognize this significant milestone.

"It is an honor to help ArborGen plant its 10 billionth seedling," said Commissioner Hugh E. Weathers, South Carolina Department of Agriculture. "The agriculture and forestry industries are significant contributors to South Carolina's economy and ArborGen is at the forefront of this important and growing sector."

With operations in four countries and sales of more than 275 million trees annually, ArborGen is the largest commercial provider of tree planting stock in the world. More than 250 million of these seedlings are planted in working forests in the Southeastern United States alone. The company's seedling products span the entire technology spectrum, from conventional seedlings to biotechnology seedlings with a robust pipeline of biotechnology and other advanced products in development.

"The achievement was made possible through the hard work and dedication of our employees and the commitment of our customers, who share our vision to provide superior performing trees for wood, fiber and energy to help conserve the world's native forests," said Barbara Wells, Ph.D., president and CEO of ArborGen. "With more than 50 years of tree improvement research and combined expertise in forestry, the planting of our 10 billionth seedling is a powerful demonstration of how our products are helping to meet the challenges facing the global commercial forestry industry."

To put this milestone into perspective, the planting of 10 billion seedlings is the equivalent of:
-- Planting 20 million acres of trees, which would be enough to fill every square inch of the land area of South Carolina;
-- Sequestering 875 million tons of carbon (estimate based on 10 billion loblolly pine seedlings grown to 25 years of age);
-- Or, it would be enough to offset the pollution of all the cars in Los Angeles for 20 years (approximately 26 million cars).

"Ever increasing demand for forest resources around the globe has meant that private forest landowners can maximize their economic returns by planting the highest quality, most beneficial seedlings on their lands," said Scott P. Jones, CEO of Forest Landowners Association. "This milestone demonstrates the positive impact ArborGen has had on America's private landowner and the wood products industry throughout the Southeast, and it underscores the great promise that these products hold for our future."

About ArborGen

ArborGen is revolutionizing productivity in commercial forestry. ArborGen is the largest global supplier of seedling products to the commercial forestry industry, as well as the leading developer of biotech seedlings. Through innovations in both conventional breeding and biotechnology, ArborGen is developing high-value products that significantly improve the productivity of a given acre of land. These products enable ArborGen's customers to grow trees that yield more wood per acre with greater consistency and quality in a shorter period of time. ArborGen's work is improving the sustainability of working forests while helping to meet the world's growing need for wood, fiber and energy. For more information, please visit www.arborgen.com .

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