The Company

Forever Living Products is a company that started out with a marketing concept before a product was decided upon. It all started with an idea and a dream of providing a way for people to set themselves free financially. It could be agreed that this was putting the cart-before-the-horse, but in this case it worked. The search for a product led the Company to stabilized Aloe Vera, one of nature's wonders.

Known as the "burn plant," this incredible miracle gel and Forever Living's marketing concept formed a perfect union. Together, the product and concept created enough excitement throughout the United States, Canada and elsewhere in the World that Forever Living got off to a dramatic start.

It all began in the Del Webb Townhouse, in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, on May 13, 1978. This was the first Certification Meeting of the Company, and it was an exciting time. Forty-three people attended, and the first product orders were filled. Goals were clearly in focus. Growth was immediate, and success was inevitable.

Since that first Certification Meeting, Forever Living Products has experienced phenomenal growth. Today, the International Headquarters are located at 7501 E. McCormick Parkway in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona. Since April, 1983, the facility accommodates the executive team, accounting personnel, marketing, sales, programming and operations specialists and all the support staff under one roof. Once Forever Living Products was on its way to success it was quickly realized that only a limited supply of Aloe Vera existed in the country. To assure the Company and its Distributors a plentiful supply, we acquired our own Aloe Vera Plantations. In addition to providing us with all the product we needed, this also gave us the ability to control the cultivation and quality of Forever Living Products Aloe Vera.

The town of Harlingen, Texas, sits in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Mexico is only 15 miles away to the south. The Gulf shores are about 30 miles east. And just three miles west of Harlingen, on Expressway 83, are the headquarters of the Forever Aloe Plantations where Forever Living Products' Aloe Vera is grown, receives loving care and is harvested.

Since Forever Living Products purchased its first Aloe Vera fields in 1980, we now own or control a majority of all commercial Aloe Vera cultivated in the United States.

Upon full maturity, the Aloe Vera plant is harvested. Millions of large, mature, succulent leaves a year are carefully removed from the plants and, with our own transport vehicles, conveyed to Mission, Texas for processing.

Another significant step was taken on May 1, 1981, when we acquired the assets of Aloe Vera of America, which included a field processing facility in Mission, Texas, for Aloe Vera stabilization, and a small cosmetic manufacturing facility in Dallas. Also, at the time, we acquired two essential patents for the stabilization of Aloe Vera. The patented process allows for packaging of Aloe Vera cosmetics and health products without loss of efficacy.

Since then we have added manufacturing and processing facilities which have allowed us to quadruple the amount of processing to meet the needs of our ever expanding world markets.

The Mission stabilization facility was completely renovated and tripled in size. Today it stands as a gleaming tribute to the excellence that Forever Living Products demands. In order to be close to the harvest of the precious, health-giving leaves, Aloe Vera of America located the processing and stabilizing facility in Mission.

When the Aloe Vera leaves are moved from the Plantations to the processing and stabilizing facility, they are placed on specially designed and patented conveyor belts. During their trip through the facility, the leaves are washed, the tips and bottoms are removed, and finally they are filleted.. "Fillet of Aloe" involves removal of the leaf's exterior rind and the extraction of the clear gel found in the center. In the Mission facility, there are filleting machines capable of separating 6,000 gallons of raw Aloe Vera gel in a single day.

The clear gel is collected in stainless steel vats and then piped through hundreds of feet of stainless steel to the opposite end of the facility where it is placed in large mixing tanks, also made of stainless steel. These tanks hold as much as 6,000 gallons of gel. The all-important, patented stabilization process prevents the loss of nutrients and other beneficial elements found in Aloe Vera. this process has been proven so unique that at present, Forever Living Products owns three United States patents on Aloe Vera stabilization processes and has several additional patents pending approval.

After the stabilization process is completed, the gel is shipped to our manufacturing facility in Dallas, Texas.

The stop at the processing plant makes the difference. Without it, Aloe Vera, a plant so rich and potent in nutrients that it can be used effectively both internally and externally, would go to waste. With it, the benefits are locked in, stabilized for a variety of health purposes, and kept true to its name-Aloe Vera, "True Aloe"

The Dallas manufacturing facility also underwent major renovations since being purchased by Forever Living Products in 1981. Plans were immediately put into effect to expand the operations. Planning included a new plant and warehouse facility along with recruitment of qualified personnel. The new Facility had to have the production capability for immediate and future needs and to allow operations on multiple shifts as expansion would demand.

When the current facility was open in Dallas, in May of 1982, its total space was over 100,000 square feet, which represents an investment of millions of dollars by forever Living Products. It is simply one of the finest production facilities of any kind and is unexcelled in comparison with any other cosmetic laboratory in the world.

The manufacturing facility has three cosmetic bottling lines with a capacity of 65,000 bottles per shift. The juice bottling line has a shift capacity of 40,000 bottles.

The facility's staff of qualified microbiologists, as well as support personnel, go to work, running a series of strict laboratory test on the products. Only when each product line clears quality control is it approved for storage and eventually shipping. Aloe Vera of America's quality assurance registered by the Food and Drug Administration as a cosmetic manufacturer, but also registered as a pharmaceutical manufacturer. This registration requires rigid quality control inspections.

Nestled among the evergreens on the edge of the Forever Aloe Plantations is our Aloe Vera Information center opened in February, 1983.

The Center stands as a reminder to everyone of Forever Living Products' commitment to telling the World how important Aloe Vera is in their lives. Everyone visiting the Information Center has the opportunity to taste the exotic flavor of Aloe Vera Juice, Forever Bee Pollen, Forever Honey or rub on a little Aloe Lotion to feel its soothing and moisturizing qualities.

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