Biobased plastic developer going global
September 11, 2012
BY Luke Geiver
A U.S.-based bioplastics developer is heading overseas. Cereplast Inc. has opened a corporate office in India to better serve current and future clients in the Southeast Asia markets. The company recently held a press conference at a Radisson hotel in Hyderabad, India to announce the move.
Vijay Sama, CEO of the A.R.M.Y. Group, a consulting firm based in India, spoke at the event, noting the importance of the use of bioplastic resins provided by Cereplast to the region. “We are proud to work with them,” he said, “and to offer their innovative materials to the South Asian markets.”
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That market, according to Cereplast, includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and offers 1.6 billion potential consumers. According to the National Geographic Greendex 2012 report, the company also noted, India is the number one country most sensitive to the environment. The same report also indicated that 33 percent of all consumers in the region are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products, 49 percent will avoid environmentally harming products, and, 50 percent already buy eco-friendly products.
Cereplast can produce a large suite of bioplastic products, some of which are made from corn, tapioca, potatoes sugar or algae.
The India office announcement comes only weeks after the company completed a fund raising transaction with Ironridge Technology Co. The funds raised will allow the company to restart their production schedule and to purchase the raw materials needed, according to Frederic Scheer, chairman and CEO of the company.
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Scheer said at the time of the announcement that opening the office in India will allow the company to establish a client base that could request anywhere between 20 to 2,000 tons per month of biobased product. And, also pointed to India as the emerging market the company needs to enter in order to continue its success. “At a time of difficulty for the European economy,” he said, “it is important for our company to continue to build a global company…and continue to reaching out to new emerging markets where the potential is quite significant.”
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