Located in the BioCampus Cologne life science park, the new facility will enable the company to directly access the European market for biopolymers and will serve as a coordination point for its regional initiatives in renewable chemicals.
The new office marks the first expansion for Metabolix outside of the US and will coordinate business development, customer service and technical support to business partners and biopolymer customers based in Europe.
"Countries in the European Union are keenly focused on sustainability initiatives and are taking decisive steps to drive the adoption of 'green' alternatives to conventional plastics and chemicals," said Richard P. Eno, president and CEO of Metabolix. "Opening a German office in an area of thriving life science innovation will put Metabolix in a central location to serve the needs of our customers and business partners."
According to the Freedonia Group1, global demand for bioplastics is expected to more than triple through 2015, with Western Europe remaining the largest consumer of bioplastic materials.
With more than 700 issued and pending patents, Metabolix has led the industry in the development of a family of biopolymers called PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates). Metabolix's technology platform has led to the development of a line of biopolymer resins marketed under the Mirel™ and Mvera™ brands, as well as the development of biobased industrial chemicals as "drop in" replacements for petroleum-based products.
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