Business News
Naturally Iowa, Inc. Completes Acquisition of PLA Supply Company
Friday 01. February 2008 - Naturally Iowa, Inc. (Other OTC:NLIA.PK - News) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of PLA Supply Company, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
“This acquisition secures our leadership position as the first and only dairy company in the world that manufactures and packages our dairy products in PLA containers made from corn, a 100% renewable resource,” said William Horner, President and CEO of Naturally Iowa, Inc. “We believe that the value proposition of delivering superior organic and all natural dairy products in PLA containers gives Naturally Iowa a competitive advantage in a marketplace where consumers are increasingly demanding environmentally friendly packaging and where our competitors are packaging their products in containers made from petroleum.”
“The acquisition of PLA Supply Company gives Naturally Iowa the opportunity to develop additional revenue streams by working with other qualified dairy and beverage companies in providing them with sustainable bottles made from corn as well and providing them with preforms, blow molding equipment and the technology required to operate in their facilities,” Horner continued. “As consumer demand increases for environmentally friendly, sustainable packaging in the dairy industry, Naturally Iowa is now uniquely well positioned to benefit from that trend. Additionally, government regulation could have a major impact on the adoption of sustainable containers as we are seeing with City and County municipalities in the United States considering following the lead of the U.K. and Hong Kong in levying fines against plastic bags and encouraging ‘plastic free zones.'”
“Naturally Iowa is now the beneficiary of thousands of hours of research and development performed by PLA Supply Company. This allows us to take the corn starch resin that is manufactured by Natureworks LLC (a joint venture of Cargill, Incorporated and Teijin Limited of Japan), from resin to fully IMS (Interstate Milk Shippers) approved bottles, allowing Naturally Iowa to be a worldwide leader in renewable packaging for dairy,” stated Horner. “We believe that this is an enormous potential revenue source for the Company, given the growing consumer interest in sustainable packaging.”
With the acquisition of 100% of the assets of PLA Supply Company, Naturally Iowa, Inc. now has acquired all rights to the PLA Supply Company contract with Natureworks LLC, a dedicated factory space in Waverly, Nebraska for the production of PLA preforms, and a long-term contractual relationship with Norland International to supply PLA bottle-blowing equipment to other qualified beverage producers.