NatureWorks announced today that Jacobs has been awarded the engineering design contract for the company’s next world-scale Ingeo™ production plant in Southeast Asia.
Jacobs, headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional, and construction services with extensive experience in polymer and chemical plant design and construction.
“Jacobs’ front-end engineering design work will include major equipment design and is the next stage of what is a multi-year project that will move into detailed engineering design, procurement, construction, and plant start-up,” explained Steve Bray, Director of Manufacturing and Engineering, NatureWorks. The company noted that these phases of the project collectively may require three years for completion, with Thailand currently targeted as the preferred plant location.
Jacobs Group Vice President Chris Nagel stated, “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with NatureWorks as they expand support to their clients in the Asia Pacific region and increase their global production efforts.”
Officials did not disclose the contract value, but noted that the project is expected to be executed primarily out of Jacobs’ Greenville, South Carolina office.
Ingeo is made from locally abundant renewable plant materials, not oil. In 2002, NatureWorks became the first company to produce a biopolymer at world-scale quantity. In 2013, NatureWorks expanded its flagship Blair facility to an annual total Ingeo capacity of 150,000 metric tons, and located its first Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Bangkok, expanding its team of senior commercial, managerial, and technical personnel to enhance support of Ingeo customers throughout the region.
About NatureWorks
NatureWorks LLC is a company dedicated to meeting the world’s needs today without compromising the earth’s ability to meet the needs of tomorrow. NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available, low-carbon-footprint Ingeo™ lactides and biopolymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with performance and economics that compete with oil-based intermediates, plastics, and fibers, and provide brand owners new cradle-to-cradle options after the use of their products. NatureWorks is jointly owned by Thailand’s largest chemical producer, PTT Global Chemical, and Cargill, an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial, and industrial products and services.
Source
NatureWorks LLC, press release, 2013-09-24.
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