LANSING, MI,
Jan. 19, 2010
(Press Release) -
EcoSynthetix of Lansing, Michigan and Burlington, Canada today announces the use of EcoSphere® biolatexTM binders by Nippon Paper Industries (NPI) of Tokyo, Japan. NPI has been commercially using EcoSphere at one of its mills since January of 2009, and is running mill trials at a number of its mills producing coated paper.
Working with FIMATEC, EcoSynthetix's Japanese Distributor, the parties undertook exhaustive testing and evaluation of EcoSphere as an SB latex substitute in 2008. The successful commercial substitution of SB latex with EcoSphere biolatex binders began in January of 2009 and continues under a Cooperation Agreement. Nippon Paper Group, which has 24 paper mills in Japan, shall use EcoSphere biolatex binders in a number of paper applications replacing styrene butadiene synthetic latexes in their proprietary paper coatings.
John van Leeuwen, EcoSynthetix CEO, stated he was delighted that NPI, globally recognized as producing some of the whitest, brightest, fine paper in the world chose EcoSphere to help them meet their sustainable development objective by replacing petroleum based synthetic latexes with EcoSphere biolatex binders which are produced from annually renewable sources. Mr. van Leeuwen commended Masato Katayama, President and CEO of FIMATEC, for his team's exceptional efforts in making this historic agreement possible.
Nippon Paper Industries Company Limited, a key company within the Nippon Paper Group, was founded in 1949. Nippon Paper Group is a leading producer of pulp, paper, paperboard and paper related products in Japan. The Group strives to grow as a resource-recycling operation that is in harmony with the society and pursues sustainable growth for the future to contribute to society through their business activities.
Fimatec founded in 1987 is a leading supplier of mineral products to the Paper industry. They aim to add as much value as possible to the mineral products their produce, focus on environmental concerns and pursue the recycling business.
EcoSynthetix founded in 1996 focuses on biobased replacements for petrochemical performance products. It flagship product EcoSphere is a high performance biolatex binder that replaces petroleum based latex binders used in the manufacture of coated paper and paperboard. Biolatex binders improve sustainability, reduce cost, and reduce carbon footprint.
The Global Paper coating industry annually uses over 4 Billion pounds (2 billion kilograms) of petroleum based synthetic binders valued at approximately US $5 Billion. First generation EcoSphere has been proven able to replace up to 100% of these latexes in paper company applications.
