Metabolix & Tianjin GreenBio Sign Heat Shrink Film Distribution & PHA Biopolymer Supply Agreement

Metabolix, Inc., an innovation-driven bioscience company focused on delivering sustainable solutions for plastics, chemicals and energy, announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Tianjin GreenBio Materials Co., Ltd. ("GreenBio"), a biomaterials company based in Tianjin, China. Under the terms of the agreement, Metabolix will distribute GreenBio's SoGreen™ heat shrink film in Europe and will be the exclusive distributor in the Americas. In addition to a distribution relationship, Metabolix and GreenBio have also signed a supply agreement for PHA biopolymers. Under the arrangement, GreenBio will supply PHA resins to Metabolix, which will extend the range and availability of the Company's PHA products.

"Tianjin GreenBio has developed a heat shrink film based on PHA biopolymers. This product complements our product slate aimed at film and bag applications and we expect will be of interest to customers in the U.S. and Europe seeking biobased materials and biodegradable performance," said Bob Engle, vice president, business and commercial development, biopolymers, at Metabolix. "With products and technology that are complementary, the distribution and PHA supply agreements mark a first step toward potentially working with Tianjin to develop additional PHA biopolymer products."

Tianjin GreenBio offers two grades of heat shrink film that is used to bind together items for packaging, shipping, and storage. One SoGreen product is designed to replace non-compostable PVC film often used to package boxed goods, software and other non-edible products. The other is designed to replace softer polyethylene films, also not compostable and often used for wrapping multiple items, often bulky and irregular in shape, such as packs of bottled water. The SoGreen heat shrink film resins (2001 and 3001) are certified by DIN CERTCO to meet the EN 13432 standard for compostable plastics.

"We are excited to work with Metabolix to gain greater exposure for our products in the Americas and Europe," said Dr. Lu Weichuan, chairman and president of Tianjin GreenBio. "Metabolix has extensive experience in biopolymers, and we look forward to working together to build the market for PHA-based biopolymer products."


Source: Metabolix