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NatureWorks is going to build a new Ingeo™️ PLA manufacturing complex in Thailand. NatureWorks plans to invest in excess of $600 million to construct the complex, which will include production sites for lactic acid, lactide, and polymer, making it the world’s first PLA facility designed to be fully integrated.
Editorial office / Thailand

Construction of the new manufacturing complex to be located at the Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex will begin in the second quarter of 2022. With an expected opening in 2024, the facility will have an annual capacity of 75,000 tons of Ingeo biopolymer and produce the full portfolio of Ingeo grades.

NatureWorks is a joint venture of chemical company GC and Cargill, and became the first company to produce PLA biopolymers at commercial scale in 2002. In 2013, NatureWorks expanded its flagship Blair, Nebraska facility to an annual total capacity of 150,000 metric tons, making it the largest PLA manufacturing plant in the world. NatureWorks also announced a capacity expansion in 2020 at their Blair facility to further increase the availability of Ingeo biopolymers.

The expanded global production of Ingeo biopolymers will support growth in markets including 3D printing and hygiene as well as compostable coffee capsules, tea bags, flexible packaging, and food serviceware.

For more information visit the NatureWorks website.

Image: Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex/NatureWorks