US-Based Natureworks Is Set to Build a New Manufacturing Plant

US-based NatureWorks is set to build a new manufacturing plant in Thailand after announcing a $150m (€108.7m) investment from PTT Chemical, Thailand’s largest chemical producer. NatureWorks, which until now was wholly owned by Cargill, says the new plant will come on-stream in 2015. “The Thai government encourages an investment in green chemicals, and particularly bioplastics, which have high growth potential in the Southeast Asian market,” Thailand’s minister of energy Pichai Naripthaphan said in a statement, adding: “PTT Chemical has made a significant step in achieving Thailand’s strategic objectives of becoming a regional hub for green technologies and solutions.” PTT Chemical says the deal will allow it to add more environmentally friendly materials to its portfolio and become a global leader in bioplastics by 2020. In April this year, US-based NatureWorks said it had chosen Asia as the location of its second manufacturing facility for its Ingeo polylactic acid resin, saying the continent is its fastest-growing sales region. The Minnesota-based company did not release details but company executives had said as far back as 2009 that they had been looking for a second facility, to complement their existing American plant in Nebraska, and were considering either Asia or Europe. Newspapers in Thailand reported in September 2010 that NatureWorks President and CEO Marc Verbruggen said in a visit to the country that Thailand was under consideration for the facility, although the reports were not at the time confirmed by the company. Source: europeanplasticsnews.com