Consumables
NatureWorks Doubles Ingeo Natural Plastic Supply Availability
Wednesday 08. July 2009 - NatureWorks LLC, maker of a broad portfolio of Ingeo biopolymers made from plants, not oil, confirmed today that personnel at its Blair, Nebraska, Ingeo manufacturing plant have successfully installed and commissioned additional equipment allowing the facility to increase production from 70 metric tons to 140 metric tons (~ 300 million pounds), its full Ingeo design capacity.
Bringing this full design capacity on-line is NatureWorks second breakthrough at the Blair facility in less than a year. In late 2008, the plant inaugurated a new manufacturing supply process that further lowered CO2 emissions and reduced the energy required to produce Ingeo bioresin. As a result, the production of Ingeo bioplastic emits less CO2 and consumes less energy from sourcing through manufacturing than the most commonly used petroleum-based plastics, including PET, PVC, polystyrene, polypropylene, low density polypropylene, and polycarbonate.
NatureWorks pursuit of greater capacity at the Blair processing facility is based on steadily increasing Ingeo demand, stemming from the rise in global oil prices, the trend to greater use of renewably resourced materials for consumer products, and from the support of customer projects such as Frito-Lays groundbreaking move toward a fully compostable chip bag. NatureWorks is also assessing locations for a second processing plant, which may be located in Asia near reliable sources of plant material.
With the introduction of Ingeo, NatureWorks became the first company to make commercially available low carbon footprint biopolymers – derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources — with performance and economics that compete with oil-based plastics and fibers. Ingeo has seen steady adoption and growth in markets that include packaging, consumer electronics, clothing, textiles, and personal care products. While the rate of sales growth has slowed during the global recession and the fall in oil prices, overall sales continue an upward curve for the companys more than 15 different grades of Ingeo bioresin.