Jun 12 2008
Cereplast, Inc., manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics, remains on track to open its Seymour, Ind. manufacturing facility in the third quarter of this year. Record rainfall in parts of the state caused the evacuation of 100 homes in Seymour this week, however Cereplast's facility remains safe from flooding. In addition, Cereplast will donate aid to the Jackson County American Red Cross to assist those affected by the weather.
“As a new member of the Seymour community, we are saddened by the devastation caused by this week’s flooding and wish all residents a speedy recovery,” said Frederic Scheer, chairman and CEO of Cereplast. “We are grateful to our operations management team that continues to meet the aggressive timeline for start of production.”
Significant progress has been made since work began at the facility in January. Staffing has begun, the facility recently started serving as a distribution center, utility upgrades and equipment configuration are ongoing, and the Board of Works and Public Safety is collecting bids for rail expansion which will make transporting materials into and out of the facility more efficient. Work on the railway expansion is expected to begin this month. Cereplast expects to begin production of its bioplastic resin products at the new facility on schedule late this summer.
“Our progress toward making the Seymour plant fully operational is right on schedule,” added Scheer. “In fact, we are on target with our overall company goals for 2008 as well, with increased demand for our resins from a broader and deeper customer base.”
The company plans to add additional buildings to the site, increasing production capacity to half a billion pounds as early as 2010. When the site reaches full capacity it will employ up to 200 full-time staff, occupy up to 67 acres and be the world’s largest bio-plastic resin production facility. The new facility complements Cereplast’s current manufacturing operation in Hawthorne, Calif., which it will continue to operate.