September 10, 2001

For more information, contact:
Michael Ferraro
President
PlantFind.com
(561) 752-2250
mike@plantfind.com

Request For Quote (RFQ) entries near $18,000,000 on PlantFind.com

Companies looking to buy plant materials take advantage of fast-growing system

Boynton Beach, Fla. - Since the recent launch of Request For Quote (RFQ) services, buyers have registered nearly $18 million in plant material they are looking to purchase, announced PlantFind.com President Michael Ferraro.

"We've seen companies who are looking to buy plants enter $17,900,000 worth of requests in just a few short months," Ferraro said, an indication that the robust PlantFind.com system is attracting buyers and sellers at a rapid pace. The RFQ system receives requests from buyers for specific quantities of plants, then distributes those requests to nurseries equipped to satisfy those requests. The nurseries then bid for the buyers' business by responding either electronically, telephonically or by fax.

"Contributing to the swift acceptance of the site has been its low cost for users," he said. Neither buyer nor seller pays any commissions, set-up fees or percentages on transactions. Instead, one low monthly fee entitles any user to full use of the system and its tools. "This has proved to be very popular, because it avoids placing new demands on any company's product pricing structure.

In addition, new services are proving to be popular. For example, wireless order notification automatically maintains communication with users, eliminating the need for companies to manually check for orders. A hard goods section will be online in the near future. The site itself (www.plantfind.com), which presents the entire Green world through the power of the Internet, includes a variety of ways for growers to present their plant material. Special advertising features are available to promote nurseries directly. Users also find timely green industry news, supplied by PlantFind.com's partner Branch-Smith Publishing, as well as grower-oriented plant articles. PlantFind.com maintains other strategic partnerships with PlantFinder Magazine, Plant and Supply Locator, and Landscape Materials and Information Service.

"The cost is already amazingly low," Ferraro said. "But for a short time, we are offering memberships for even less." Normally a PlantFind.com membership is $49 a month. Now it is offered at a special price of $147 for three months - followed by three months free! "For a flat fee of only 82 cents a day, any nursery or landscaper or retailer can buy or sell as much material as they need using our network," he said. Included in this package are unlimited listings of products, individual storefronts and more. "Basically we give you all the tools necessary to do business on the Internet, within a community of thousands of other companies looking to buy or sell with you and they are there doing it now" Ferraro said.

PlantFind.com was created by a group of notable industry professionals. PlantFind.com CEO Frank Ferraro is the former President of the New York State Nurserymen's Association and has been a leader in the green industry for the past 38 years. Bosh Bruening, Vice President of sales, served with ANLA as the chair of the Public Relations Committee for six years and Chair of the Wholesale Plant Sales Professionals Committee for 12 years. Other members of the creation team were Dr. George Good of Cornell University, Peter Costich of Horticulture Material Systems, Edward D. Stone Jr. of EDSA, and Dick McGuire who served on the executive committee for the American Farm Bureau for 12 years. This team of industry experts has been joined by Jim Amtmann, Chief Operating Officer, an experienced leader who has led eight companies ranging from various high-tech companies to Fortune 200 companies such as The Stanley Works, where he acted as the President of three divisions for more than 30 years. Amtmann also reigned as President of First Alert, and President/CEO of Zodiac Pool Care Sector. Together, the creators of PlantFind.com have more than 300 years of experience in the green industry.

PlantFind.com allows growers to participate at several different levels - from receiving request for quotes to complete online sales. Other amenities include industry software (ASP) that allows companies to avoid some of the high costs of customized software. Currently, inventories for more than 1,500 growers are listed on PlantFind.com with an estimated street value of over $ 3.5 billion dollars.