Cargill to Assume Full Ownership of Corn-based NatureWorks
MINNEAPOLIS -- Cargill will acquire The Dow Chemical Co.'s interest in Cargill
Dow LLC, the 50/50 joint venture formed in 1997 to commercialize polylactic acid
biopolymers. Terms of the transaction, subject to regulatory approval in Europe,
were not disclosed.
Cargill is the original inventor of polylactic acid (PLA), a polymer derived
from natural plant sugars and marketed by the joint venture as NatureWorks PLA
and Ingeo fibers. NatureWorks PLA is used in a broad range of packaging
applications for companies seeking plastics made from a renewable resource,
including supermarket chains. The venture employs 230 people in Minnetonka,
Minn. and Blair, Neb. Specific details of the transaction are expected to be
announced in the coming weeks.
Dow LLC, the 50/50 joint venture formed in 1997 to commercialize polylactic acid
biopolymers. Terms of the transaction, subject to regulatory approval in Europe,
were not disclosed.
Cargill is the original inventor of polylactic acid (PLA), a polymer derived
from natural plant sugars and marketed by the joint venture as NatureWorks PLA
and Ingeo fibers. NatureWorks PLA is used in a broad range of packaging
applications for companies seeking plastics made from a renewable resource,
including supermarket chains. The venture employs 230 people in Minnetonka,
Minn. and Blair, Neb. Specific details of the transaction are expected to be
announced in the coming weeks.