NatureWorks to select new bioplastic plant site in 2011

30 June 2010 22:44  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US bioplastic producer NatureWorks will select a site for its second polylactic acid (PLA) plastic facility in early 2011, a company official said on Wednesday.

NatureWorks is looking at Europe, Asia Pacific and South America for the possible new location, the official said.

The planned facility will have a capacity of 140,000 tonnes/year and is projected to come online between 2013 and 2014.

The company’s existing PLA production plant in Blair, Nebraska, has capacity of 140,000 tonnes/year.

“The selection of our new site will depend on feedstock availability, end market access and market incentives,” said Peter Clysdale, chief marketing officer for NatureWorks.

He spoke at the World Congress on Industrial Biotech and Bioprocessing, sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

“Despite 2009 being a difficult year, we were still able to grow at 10% rate,” Clysdale said.

“Long term, we continue to see global growth for bioplastics demand between 30% and 40% year on year,” he added.

NatureWorks’ Ingeo bioplastic brand already is on a price par with petroleum-based polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS), Clysdale said.

NatureWorks is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

The BIO congress ends on Wednesday.

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By: Doris de Guzman
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