Trellis Earth rolls out scaled-back IPO

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Trellis Earth manufacturers bioplastic products including cutlery, deli trays and bags designed to be more sustainable than regular plastic. The company is selling its shares to the public for the first time.

Bioplastics manufacturer Trellis Earth Products Inc. became a public company this week and is looking to sell 8 million shares of its stock at the scaled back price of $1.20 per share, down from the original plan of $2 per share.

Each share will come with a warrant, half which will have an exercise price of $1.25, with the other half carrying an exercise price of $1.75.

After expenses, Trellis Earth expects to have raised about $7.3 million and be traded over the counter.

"We're going out on a lower price than we originally intended due to market conditions," said Bill Collins, Trellis Earth's CEO, adding that he hopes to move the stock to the Nasdaq exchange next year.

Originally Trellis Earth planned to raise $8 million in the offering.

Collins said he expects the round to close in 45 days, the prospectus being used by placement agent Tripoint Global Equities LLC has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

While the lower price point for Trellis Earth shares will require the company to scale back its plans, Collins said the company is in negotiation for a manufacturing facility in Lake Oswego. The 110,000-square-foot building was formerly used by Gage Industries to manufacture plastic take out containers and would be ideal for use by Trellis Earth, which would make its bioplastics products there, Collins said.

"It was used for a similar purpose to what we're hoping to use it for," Collins said.

Trellis Earth intends to start manufacturing product in Oregon as soon as possible this year, gradually phasing out the manufacturing the company does in China. Collins said Trellis Earth would hire 45 new employees to staff up the manufacturing facility which would operate in three shifts and manufacture about 700 tons of product per month.

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