Bangkok--23 Jan--brandsalon
NatureWorks announces Asia Pacific senior management team and establishes regional headquarters in BangkokNatureWorks CEO Keynote opens InnoBioPlast Conference and Exhibition 2013
NatureWorks, the world’s leading supplier of biopolymers, with Ingeo? fibers and plastics made from plants, not oil, announced today that the company has hired its senior management team for the Asia Pacific (A/P) region. The company will base its A/P headquarters in Bangkok.
Viboon Pungprasert is the new general manager of NatureWorks Asia Pacific Limited. He comes to NatureWorks from PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited (PTTGC), where he most recently served as assistant vice president of international business development for the PTTCG’s international investment subsidiary. Rich Weber will serve as NatureWorks’ new Asia Pacific commercial director.
NatureWorks will introduce Pungprasert, Weber and its new Asia Pacific team to brand owners, a broad range of converters and manufacturers, as well as members of the media on Tuesday, January 22, 2013, during an Ingeo introductory workshop in Bangkok. Set around an Ingeo Innovation Gallery, which tangibly demonstrates how leading designers and brands have rethought and reinvented their consumer products using Ingeo, the half-day workshop will highlight NatureWorks’ strategy and approach to supporting local Ingeo market development opportunities in Thailand.
“In many parts of Asia, most notably China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, as in North America and Europe, Ingeo is helping brand owners lower the carbon footprint of their plastic and fiber products, while giving these same companies significantly improved material price stability,” said Marc Verbruggen, president and CEO, NatureWorks. Verbruggen will also be in Thailand to open the 2013 InnoBioPlast Conference and Exhibition and provide the keynote address at this international conference and exhibition on bioplastics and biobased business opportunities.
“Given Thailand’s strong interest and growing need for cost competitive, low carbon footprint, performance-based materials, we’re excited that we’re now ‘open for business’,” said Pungprasert.
Weber added, “Our focus will be on developing key relationships throughout various channels to the market, and supporting converters downstream manufacturers, as well as innovative brands and retailers in their quest to differentiate and innovate using new biopolymers such as Ingeo.”
General manager Pungprasert will oversee decision making for a local Ingeo production facility. He will be the local NatureWorks contact point for all stakeholders involved in selecting a Thai production site, as well as engineering and building a world-class production plant.
Commercial director Weber will be responsible for setting up commercial operations to support regional business development opportunities, as well as overseeing Ingeo resin sales and marketing activities in Asia. Kasina Samdaengdech, NatureWorks’ business development manager in Thailand, will work with Weber to support NatureWorks business development in Thailand and Vietnam.
In regards to the new plant, Pungprasert noted that the company continues to work through various issues involved with starting an advanced technology production facility from the ground-up in Thailand. These issues include understanding available economic incentives, finalizing feedstock logistics, sourcing raw materials, evaluating site location options, setting up utility service contracts, and a host of other related considerations.
Echoing these thoughts, Verbruggen said, “As soon as we have the details of a new plant confirmed in terms of these relevant factors, we’ll make a plant related announcement. Doing so beforehand would simply not be prudent given multiple discussions on this topic that remain ongoing between NatureWorks and various interested parties.”
Pungprasert has a broad perspective of how other countries have built a successful supporting environment for biobased materials market development by providing a comprehensive set of policies that give a clear and consistent signal to the entire channel to market. He notes, “Thailand has the unique opportunity to be a fully integrated biomaterials hub ? from the farm ? to the production of biobased materials, to the fabrication of intermediate and finished products for both domestic use and export.”
“Ingeo is a commercially viable, renewably sourced, performance material. Because it is already available worldwide and is cost competitive today, with the right incentives and top down policies, NatureWorks can help facilitate and build a successful network across the entire value chain,” said Pungrasert. “This will benefit both the bioplastics industry today, and the development of the broader Thai biobased products industry tomorrow.”
Ingeo, the world’s leading bioplastic, is utilized in a host of products and industries. A sampling of current solutions can be found online in NatureWorks’ COP 17 Ingeo Lookbook. NatureWorks A/P headquarters in Bangkok is located at 123 Suntowers Building B, 28th Floor, Room 2802, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chomphon, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 Thailand. Contact the company by calling 66-2-140-3800 or writing
[email protected].
For more information on NatureWorks, visit www.natureworksllc.com. Follow NatureWorks on Twitter (@natureworks) for the latest updates.