NEWBURYPORT — A Saugus-based company that creates organic, green products by using water-retentive soil will move into the Newburyport business park next month.
The company, EZ Care Growing Technologies, LLC, will set up operations in the Newburyport CleanTech Center at 10 Mulliken Way and establish a distribution center there.
The venture-backed startup makes patented products such as EZ WaterGrip, a soil-like substance that executives say can grow vines and plants quickly while saving water.
Company President John Lunde said his business will occupy about 5,000 square feet in the building. With an additional 8,500 square feet next door, there’s also the potential for expansion, he said.
EZ Care will begin setting up its offices and computer systems next month and employ about 10 people once it gets fully organized, Lunde said.
“We like the building and the city,” said Lunde, who was visiting Newburyport yesterday. “We have green products, and we think will have great appeal.”
Allan Huberman, a veteran greenhouse owner in Saugus who developed the product, said he initially marketed WaterGrip to municipalities that wanted fast growth with minimum water use.
“Plants exposed to WaterGrip grow rapidly and use very little water. They don’t die,” said Huberman, who has been working on the product for eight years.
He said he has fielded inquiries for the product from Apple Computer, the new “ground zero” complex in New York City and a strip-mining operation in Nevada.
One of the designs, called the “brownie” and built in the shape of a 1-by-2-foot tray about 3 inches deep, is lined with a loam-like substance that Huberman said holds water like a sponge. Huberman declined to identify the materials that fill the base of the unit beyond saying it was a mixture of peat moss and special organic substances. He said a price structure has yet to be created for the product.
The announcement of EZ Care’s pending arrival followed a seminar on sustainable business practices by CleanTech Center officials. The seminar included presentations by representatives of a consulting firm and an accounting partnership.
Mark Richey, owner of Mark Richey Woodworking in Newburyport, was one of the main speakers. Richey is known for his innovative energy-generating efforts, most notably his wind-driven turbine that provides energy for his company at 40 Parker St.
Richey talked about the value of alternative energy systems as he has done by retrofitting his manufacturing plant and later creating a biomass heating system.
Richey, who started his business in Essex, said he chose the old Owens-Illinois building in Newburyport because it had been constructed for manufacturing. He opted to change its heating system to a biomass heating plant that used much of his excess wood products to heat the plant.
“I had seen plants in Europe, and they used their excess products because oil and gas are so expensive there,” he said. “I could not see trucking all our unused wood products to a landfill. So, we invested in a heating program that used much of our own extra material.”
Richey said state Department of Environmental Protection staff members initially dismissed his plans, perhaps because they did not understand the technology.
He said he enlisted the support of state Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, and state Rep. Mike Costello, D-Newburyport, to urge DEP to closely review his proposal, which eventually was approved. Richey also praised former Mayor Mary Anne Clancy and her staff for providing support and encouragement when he was starting out.
Richey’s turbine-generated energy project, which provides power for his plant, as well as excess energy that he sells on the open market, has also received considerable attention.
“One of the most valuable aspects of our alternative energy plan is that we are passing along what we have learned to students,” he said. “We’ve had more than 3,000 young people through here, and when they start their own businesses, they will begin with the belief that they can use alternative energy, because they have seen it work.”