To reiterate the true value of this hydroponic greenhouse operation that TRTC is starting, it is worth rereading what COO Ken Vande Vrede told the Los Angeles Times in March. Here are the first first few graphs followed by a link for those who may not have seen the article. LAT used Terra Tech's setup in the lede for a reason. it is the best setup there is for a u.s. stock company positioning itself for post-prohibition pot.
article extract:
Wall Street sees opportunity in marijuana
Hoping to cash in if pot becomes legal nationwide, entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to potential investors.
March 23, 2013|By Andrew Tangel, Los Angeles Times
Washington, D.C., and 18 states, including California, have already legalized medical marijuana; there are formal measures pending in 10 additional states, according to the National Cannabis Industry Assn.
Washington, D.C., and 18 states, including California, have already legalized… (David Paul Morris, Bloomberg )
BELVIDERE, N.J. — Amid the whir of fans and the glow of soft white light, workers tended to bright green seedlings sprouting in a giant greenhouse.
Located about an hour's drive from Manhattan in the hills of northwestern New Jersey, the facility produces basil, chives, oregano and other herbs that are sold in grocery stores around New York City.
But if Ken VandeVrede has his way the facility will one day be growing a much more valuable plant: marijuana.
VandeVrede is chief operating officer at Terra Tech, a hydroponic equipment maker based in Irvine. The small company wants to double the five-acre New Jersey greenhouse operation. The aim is one day to supply the exploding U.S. medical marijuana trade and to prepare in the event that recreational marijuana ever becomes legal nationwide.
"We can scale this thing very, very quickly," said VandeVrede, clad in blue jeans and a pumpkin-colored sweater as he surveyed his indoor fields of produce and flowers. "When hemp and cannabis become legal, we're ready to rock and roll."
To do it, Terra Tech needs to raise $2 million. And like a number of small businesses in the burgeoning U.S. cannabis industry, it's trying to enlist Wall Street's help. Business owners have been pitching their ideas to potential investors, coming to New York in some cases to meet with would-be financiers.
LAT article link:
