Ingeo News Special Edition: Innovation Takes Root 2014
April 25, 2014
Innovation Takes Root 2014 recieves widespread international media coverage
Nine journalists representing 12 media outlets located in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia attended NatureWorks’ Innovation Takes Root 2014 in Orlando, Fla., in February. Their articles, posts, and videos filled the industry outlets and spawned coverage from other journalists. Here is a sampling of the coverage of this Ingeo global users’ forum.
Bioplastics conference learns of new additive to enhance PLA performance
“And for me, at least, this event is reminiscent of a time decades ago when the big polymer producers would gather together other segments of the industry—machine builders, additive suppliers, and processors—to help each other learn how to tap the potential of an upstart family of materials that was challenging the established order...”
"Innovation Takes Root, the biennial conference and exhibit organized by NatureWorks LLC, Minnetonka, Minn., feels different from most plastics industry meetings. For one thing, there’s the sense of excitement among the participants in helping create something new—an entire plastics supply chain based on renewable, biobased feedstocks."
Material Insights: Pricing changes, biomaterial innovations
Resin pricing activity showed no signs of slowing down in February. Details on changes for suspension PVC, solid polystyrene and PET bottle resin, plus a report from the Innovation Takes Root conference, in this edition of Material Insights.
Danone converting some yogurt packaging to PLA
“Global food giant Groupe Danone has converted about 5 percent of its yogurt packaging to bio-based polylactic acid...”
PLA is currently used as a replacement for high impact polystyrene for the company’s Stonyfield Farms brand organic yogurt made in the U.S. and at a site in Germany.
LEGO seeking sustainable alternative to its trademark brick material
“I need to find a material that will be just as good in 50 years, because these [LEGO bricks] are passed down from generation to generation.”
LEGO told Plastics News this week that it is looking for a sustainable alternative to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), the plastic resin used in its signature bricks, by 2030.
Read more at SustainableBrands.com
With 1 billion pounds of PLA sold, NatureWorks sees rapid growth to 2 billion
“Last year [NatureWorks] marked 1 billion pounds of Ingeo sold. It is near capacity at its original production plant in Blair, Neb., and in the final stages of planning the location of its second plant, likely to be in Thailand...”
“Now if you’re in the chemical industry, you probably say: ‘A billion pounds. So what?’” said Marc Verbruggen, president and CEO of NatureWorks during the Innovation Takes Root 2014 conference in Orlando Feb. 17-19. “But in the world of bioplastics, having produced and sold a billion pounds means that we have come a long way.”
IBM leads in first-ever use of bioplastics in servers
A blend of polylactic acid (PLA) and polycarbonate developed by PolyOne has been qualified for use in a newly developed product series that will be introduced in the late fall.
Lego investigates shift to bioplastics
“Lego, the global producer of children's building blocks, expects to convert to bioplastics as part of a long-term sustainability program.”
"I know it will happen; it is just a matter of time," Alan Rasmussen, a materials engineer at Lego said this morning in a presentation at Innovation Takes Root, a conference sponsored by Nature Works in Orlando, FL...
Price, Performance, and Preference
“This suggests an imminent escalation in the adoption of Ingeo PLA fibre by the industry...”
A significant number of major suppliers to the global nonwovens industry have been present at this week’s Innovation Takes Root conference held by NatureWorks in Orlando, Florida.
En Orlando se celebrará la cuarta versión de la conferencia Innovation Takes Root
En Orlando se celebrará la cuarta versión de la conferencia Innovation Takes Root.
New player in enhanced PLA compounds, additives
As explained by technical director Andrew Gill, Floreon Transforming Packaging Ltd., offers two kinds of products- fully formulated compounds of Ingeo PLA and additives - including combinations of two other biodegradable polyesters - and master batches of PLA and additives...
Lego looking for a sustainable replacement for ABS
The search for that new resin will not be easy, though, said Allan Rasmussen, senior project manager for LEGO. Not only must the selected material be able to meet the same characteristics as the locking building blocks, they must also blend seamlessly with bricks already in children’s hands...
Realizarán cuarta versión de la conferencia Innovation Takes Root
Realizarán cuarta versión de la conferencia Innovation Takes Root.
Ingeo: The journey to becoming 'just another plastic'
The fibers and nonwovens segment is one of the fastest growing markets for the Ingeo biopolymer, revealed Robert Green, global business leader for fibres and nonwovens at NatureWorks, at the company's fourth Innovation Takes Root conference that was held in Orlando, Florida, this week.
Market opportunities for PLA biopolymer in the Philippines...
NatureWorks’ distribution and compounding partner in the Philippines, D&L Industries Inc., discusses the market opportunities in the Southeast Asian country for bioplastics.
ITR Video Recap
Look back on what happened at ITR and recapture the spirit of innovation in only 3:19! View the video on our YouTube channel.
Nobody saw it coming, let alone in 3D...
"One market, however, has come entirely out of the blue and is now taking on epic proportions for Applied Polymer Innovations – the sudden adoption of PLA as the polymer and monofilament of choice for 3D printing..."
Read more in Innovation in Textiles
Los empaques fueron protagonistas en Innovation Takes Root: el evento del biopolímero Ingeo
El evento Innovation Takes Root, dedicado a la resina Ingeo de Nature Works, inició su cuarta versión en el hotel Orlando World Center Marriot de Florida, Estados Unidos. Su duración se extenderá por el término de tres días, del 17 al 19 de febrero. Sin embargo el martes 18 se le dará protagonismo al sector de los empaques, a través del ciclo de conferencias denominado "Expandiendo el foco en envases rígidos".
Danone examines PLA under the same microscope as conventional plastics
For Danone, FFS is its preferred technology because of the quality... PLA ticked all the right boxes for Danone, in terms of safety, consumer acceptance, and its short-term and mid-term competitiveness.
Universities establish bioplastics research center
“Our plan is to conduct pre-competitive research that would benefit many companies," said Meg Sobkowicz Kline, a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in an interview at Innovation Takes Root in Orlando, FL.
Three universities are joining forces to establish The Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites to combine academic and private resources to study technical issues surrounding renewably sourced materials.
New compound helps PLA get tougher
Floreon-Transforming Packaging Limited speaks to PackWebasia.com editor Trina Tan about its new specially formulated compound, which is added to standard PLA to enhance the biopolymer's performance.
K-C’s nanocellular PLA advances
Kimberly-Clark has developed a range of engineered Ingeo PLA composites with unique nanocellular structures for spunbond nonwovens.
“Kimberly-Clark has developed novel engineered composite blends and nanocellular structures with PLA, which it is looking to commercialize, it was revealed at the NatureWorks Innovation Takes Root conference in Orlando, Florida, last month.”
Senior engineer Ryan McEneany presented the development of engineered PLA composite blends and nanocellular structures, which he says results in a strong, lightweight, tough yet flexible and high impact material that could be used applications such as textiles and packaging.
Innovation Takes Root 2014: NatureWorks Conference – Day One
“In the spirit of the conference theme, the program kicked off with a keynote presentation by Jim Carroll, a futurist, trends and innovations guru, who challenged the audience to reconsider their attitude towards innovation...”
One of the interesting points raised by Carroll was about how packaging is increasingly becoming THE brand…
Los empaques fueron protagonistas en Innovation Takes Root
"Las exposiciones inician con la charla "Biomateriales: no una bala de plata sino una vía potencial para empaques más sustentables" a cargo de la directora sénior de innovación y asesoría de servicios en GreenBlue, Katherine O'Dea, quien cuenta con 20 años de experiencia en el campo de la sustentabilidad y ha trabajado para impulsar el cambio positivo a través de la participación de las ONG…"
Eventos recomendados para la industria plástica en 2014
Eventos recomendados para la industria plástica en 2014
Material Insights: A new resin for Lego
Lego A/S is setting a target to use a sustainable resin in its signature bricks by 2030, replacing ABS. News about the eventual switch is featured in our Material Insights video.
Metabolix presented new PHA-based rubber modifiers for PLA at Innovation Takes Root 2014 conf.
The Metabolix bio-elastomers modify PLA, improving physical properties without compromising clarity. In PLA films, Metabolix modifiers lower the modulus and improve tear resistance. In extruded and molded parts, the PHA modifiers improve ductility and reduce brittle fracturing. Distinctly high bio-content and biodegradability set Metabolix PHA modifiers apart from traditional non-renewable counterparts.
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Thank You Sponsors
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