Cereplast announces distribution agreement with Turkish customer
December 1, 2011
BY Erin Voegele
Calif.-based bioplastic producer Cereplast Inc. has announced a three-year distribution agreement with GAMA Plastik AS to supply bioplastic resin in Turkey. According to information released by the company, GAMA Plastik plans to purchase 200 metric tons a month of the biobased resin next year, with a significant purchasing increase in 2013. Cereplast anticipates generating revenue from the agreement within the next 90 days.
Nicole Cardi, Cereplast’s vice president of marketing and communications, said GAMA Plastik will be purchasing bioplastic resin from both Cereplast’s compostable and sustainable lines of materials. The ability to purchase both types of materials from Cereplast was very important to the customer, Cardi said. GAMA Plastik, a leading plastic trader located in Istanbul will use the biobased resins to produce films and injection molded products.
According to Cardi, the resin material to fulfill GAMA Plastik’s orders will initially be produced at its Indiana factory. Cereplast is also working to develop a factory in Europe. “We have secured the financing and started to do the work to open a factory in Italy,” Cardi said. That facility is expected to be operational by late 2012. Once the new production facility comes online, Cardi said it will likely be used to fulfill orders coming out of Europe.
“Over the last 15 years we have developed industry expertise and a knowledgeable customer base regarding sustainable plastic raw materials,” said Aydemir Esencan, CEO of Gama Plastics Group. “We are very excited to start this partnership with Cereplast and all our customers are ready to use our products containing Cereplast's raw material. Turkey has a young and dynamic population and market strength in Europe. Cereplast's name and quality in compostable and sustainable bioplastics will help both companies increase their market share.”
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Cardi noted that the majority of current demand for Cereplast’s products comes from the European market. Legislative initiatives, such as those banning plastic bags, as well as an extensive composting infrastructure, have helped drive that demand, she said. “There definitely is a lot of awareness and demand for bioplastic resins in Europe, and it’s growing exponentially,” Cardi added. “We expect to continue to see that type of growth, and hopefully the U.S. will catch up.”
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