New bioresin plant in the pipeline for NatureWorks

14-Mar-09

NatureWorks LLC, a US-based manufacturer of bio-based PLA plastic resin, is currently considering building a second manufacturing plant. The company will reportedly decide amongst the Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas regions for its new Ingeo™ bio-based resin plant keeping in mind factors including expected growth and the availability of the plant-based feedstock. NatureWorks LLC applies its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create the proprietary polylactide polymer marketed under the Ingeo™ brand name. NatureWorks, the joint venture between Cargill and Teijin Limited, houses a manufacturing facility in Blair, Nebraska, USA, with a nameplate capacity of 300 mln pounds (140,000 metric tons) of polymer which came online in 2002. In 2003, NatureWorks LLC built the world's largest lactic acid manufacturing facility to feed our polymer plant.