ECONET Hosts Trade Mission; Univera Starts Philanthropy

SEOUL, South Korea—ECONET hosted a trade mission delegation from Washington state, including Gov. Chris Gregoire and Sen. Paul Shin, to its global headquarters here; ECONET’s U.S. operations relocated from Colorado to Washington in 2004. Delegates toured the facility and discussed the company’s development plans, including the development of its extensive corporate campus in Washington.

“ECONET is now beginning a significant global expansion, and we are pleased to have worked with Sen. Shin and others in Washington state to secure a U.S. headquarters site in Lacey, Wash.,” said Derek Hall, vice chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of ECONET. “We anticipate increased participation with the State Department of Trade, Community and Economic Development (CTED) and the governor’s office as ECONET companies expand worldwide.” ECONET’s family of companies includes Unigen Pharmaceuticals (www.unigenpharma.com), Aloecorp (www.aloecorp.com) and Univera (www.univeralifesciences.com).

In additional news, Univera launched a non-profit charity, Univera Serve First, with a $1 million product contribution from the company and $100,000 in cash donations from Univera sales associations. The non-profit program is designed to support impoverished children in America and will be administered by Vitamin Angels (www.vitaminangels.org). Howard Schiffer, president of Vitamin Angels, said, “This program with Univera Serve First marks a significant effort in the United States, where a high quality nutritional mealreplacement drink is being delivered to impoverished elementary school children in rural Mississippi.”