Business News
Teijin transfers 50% ownership in NatureWorks back to Cargill
Saturday 04. July 2009 - Teijin Limited announced today that it had transferred its 50% ownership in NatureWorks LLC back to Cargill and terminated the joint-venture contract with Cargill regarding NatureWorks as of June 30.
NatureWorks, established in 1997 and operated as a Teijin-Cargill 50:50 joint venture since October 2007, produces its IngeoTM biopolymer at the worlds largest commercial polylactic acid (PLA) manufacturing facility with an annual capacity of 140,000 tons.
Teijin, which is currently proceeding with a business portfolio restructuring in response to the global economic downturn, has made the decision to focus its corporate resources on technological and commercial development of BIOFRONTTM, its proprietary heat-resistant PLA plastic and accordingly transferred its ownership back to Cargill as a result of shift in emphasis.
NatureWorks, which has reverted to being a wholly owned company by Cargill, operates business-as-usual under the leadership of current CEO Marc Verbruggen with prospects for continued growth. The financial impact of the ownership transfer was included in Teijin’s fiscal 2008 (ended March 31, 2009) results, and will have no impact in the current fiscal year.
As a key issue in promoting sustainable environment initiatives, Teijin has been working on the development of materials using renewable resources in place of oil. Considering the possibility that the importance of bioplastic will increase more than ever in the coming years, the company will continue to focus on the bioplastic business for overall market expansion. Teijin believes that cooperative efforts among industry players are essential for continued market expansion going forward and intends to maintain cooperative relations with NatureWorks and Cargill, which share the same belief.