Naturally Advanced Technologies Announces Partnership With Carolina Eastern to Manage Agronomics in Kingstree, S.C.

PORTLAND, OR and VANCOUVER, BC, July 14, 2011 /CNW/ -- 



Company Will Contract 15,000 Acres of Flax This Year and Establish
 Regional Production Facility by Q1 2012 


Announcement Follows Close of C$13.1M in Bought Deal Financing


PORTLAND, OR and VANCOUVER, BC, July 14, 2011 /CNW/ - Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. ("NAT" or the "Company") (OTCBB: NADVF) (TSXV: NAT) today announced it
 has entered into an agreement with Carolina Eastern Precision Ag, of Pamplico, S.C., to provide agronomic consultation to the Company
 and its contractors in the region. Under the terms of the agreement,
 Carolina Eastern will assist NAT in the recruitment of growers and
 contractors, and advise on all cultivation related to flax that will be
 turned into its branded CRAiLAR fiber including seeding rates,
 fertilization, and weed control. NAT plans to contract more than 15,000
 acres of flax, grown as a winter crop, in its first year. The harvest
 will be the first used under a purchasing agreement with HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI) for CRAiLAR Flax fiber announced in March 2011. This
 follows an 18-month pilot program with HanesBrands and the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA - ARS), which verified the opportunity for flax growth in the
 region.


By the first quarter of 2012, NAT anticipates it will build an
 integrated facility in Williamsburg County capable of producing 300,000
 lbs. of CRAiLAR Flax fiber per week. S.C. is one of two flax
 fiber-producing regions strategically chosen by NAT for the location of
 facilities.


"This announcement is a culmination of a two-year process that took a
 significant amount of effort from South Carolina's Department of
 Commerce, the USDA - ARS, Williamsburg County, and HanesBrands," said
 Jason Finnis, founder and COO of NAT. "We are confident in the
 experience and relationships that Carolina Eastern brings to our team,"
 continued Finnis, "And we anticipate that their team's knowledge of the
 region, from both the agronomic and economic standpoints, will allow us
 to quickly and smoothly ramp up production demand to bring CRAiLAR Flax
 to market," he concluded.


The Carolina Eastern team will be led by Charles "Russell" Duncan, who
 spent 27 years as an agricultural extension agent in the Pee Dee area
 of S.C. with Clemson University. A native of S.C., he worked in
 Clarendon, Florence, Marion and Williamsburg counties during his
 tenure, and served as administrator for the Clarendon and Williamsburg
 offices. He is currently serving as chair of the International
 Certified Crop Adviser board, a national program of the American
 Society of Agronomy, which has established benchmarks for education,
 experience and ethics in agronomy.


"CRAiLAR Flax fiber is one of the most well-researched agronomic
 opportunities we've seen in South Carolina in my entire career," said
 Duncan. "Between their partnerships with a well-established end-user in
 HanesBrands, along with institutional research and the potential for
 local financing, we are excited about the opportunity we will be
 presenting in coming months and hope for a long-term opportunity to be
 established among farmers looking for winter crop alternatives."


Farmer Field Day
A farmer field day, to be held on Wednesday, August 3 in Kingstree,
 S.C., is expected to attract more than 100 farmers in the region who
 are interested in growing an alternative cash crop to wheat in the
 winter months. The event will be hosted by NAT and Carolina Eastern,
 and will be supported by the USDA office in Clemson, S.C., HanesBrands
 and Arbor One Farm Credit.


The Company intends to leverage regional sustainable agricultural
 initiatives to fund a portion of the capital requirement to establish
 itself in the region.


CRAiLAR Flax Fiber Production in South Carolina
The Company recently completed winter growing trials in a combined study
 with the USDA - ARS and HanesBrands, and has identified the varietals
 that will produce the best fiber yields in a growing season that
 traditionally can only produce winter wheat. Dr. Jonn Foulk, Research
 Scientist, USDA -ARS, assited the team with the research. He has
 studied flax production in the region for nearly a decade.


"As a winter crop, we found that South Carolina offers significant
 upsides to growing varietals of flax that are needed to produce CRAiLAR
 fiber," said Dr. Foulk. "The climate is ideal, the fertilization and
 weed control are minimal and the winter rainfall provides adequate
 irrigation. Additionally, production in the southeastern U.S. has the
 potential to enhance rural economic growth and to supply a natural
 domestic source of fiber to industries."


In August 2010 NAT signed a ten month sublease on a facility in
 Kingstree, S.C., where it scaled-up flax fiber production by conducting
 the decortication process of CRAiLAR Flax fiber. The facility was
 originally established to conduct processing of flax fiber under a USDA
 initiative.


Companies with which NAT is currently engaged in purchasing or
 development agreements include Georgia-Pacific, Levi Strauss & Company, Cintas Corporation, Ashland Inc., and HanesBrands.


Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.
Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. develops renewable and
 environmentally sustainable biomass resources from flax, hemp and other
 bast fibers. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, CRAiLAR®
 Fiber Technologies Inc., has developed proprietary technologies for
 production of bast fibers, cellulose pulp, and their resulting
 by-products in collaboration with Canada's National Research Council.
 CRAiLAR technology offers cost-effective and environmentally
 sustainable processing and production of natural, bast fibers resulting
 in increased performance characteristics for use in textile,
 industrial, energy, medical and composite material applications. The
 Company was founded in 1998 as a provider of environmentally friendly,
 socially responsible clothing. For more information, visit www.naturallyadvanced.com.


Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services
 Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture
 Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
 release.


Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer


This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed
 "forward-looking statements". All statements in this news release,
 other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking
 statements. Forward-looking statements or information are subject to a
 variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or
 results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking
 statements or information and including, without limitation, risks and
 uncertainties relating to: any market interruptions that may delay the
 trading of the Company's shares, technological and operational
 challenges, needs for additional capital, changes in consumer
 preferences, market acceptance and technological changes, dependence on
 manufacturing and material supplies providers, international
 operations, competition, regulatory restrictions and the loss of key
 employees. In addition, the Company's business and operations are
 subject to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K,
 Form 10-Q and other SEC filings which are available through EDGAR at www.sec.gov. These are among the primary risks we foresee at the present time. The
 Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements.



To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2011/14/c5481.html



p  /p p bMedia Contact:/bbr/ Ryan Leverenzbr/ Lew Leverenz Associatesbr/ [phone]br/ a href="mailto:[e-mail]"[e-mail]/a /p p bInvestor Contact:/bbr/ Rick Anguillabr/ Guidance Counselbr/ [phone]br/ a href="mailto:[e-mail]"[e-mail]/a /p p bCorporate Officer:/bbr/ Guy Prevostbr/ CFObr/ [phone] /p 

Copyright