Gorinchem, the Netherlands 09 March 2018
Total Corbion PLA will be exhibiting at the NPE trade fair at booth S35085 from 7th – 11th May in Orlando, USA. The company will highlight its Luminy® portfolio of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) resins for the Americas, in advance of its 75 kTpa (165 million lbs per year) production plant starting-up in the second half of 2018. The Luminy® PLA portfolio includes both high heat and standard PLA grades and is used in a wide range of markets, from packaging to durable consumer goods and electronics. PLA is a biobased and biodegradable polymer made from annually renewable resources, offering a reduced carbon footprint versus many traditional plastics.

Total Corbion PLA, based in the Netherlands, officially launched operations in March 2017 as a 50/50 joint venture between parent companies Total and Corbion. The company’s world-class PLA polymerization plant, with a capacity of 75,000 tons (165 million lbs) per year, is currently under construction in Rayong, Thailand, and is on track to deliver its first commercial quantities in the second half of 2018. The plant will produce a range of resins from the Luminy® portfolio, including specially developed products for extrusion/thermoforming, injection molding and fiber spinning. In the meantime, the company has already started providing pre-marketing resins to interested customers in order to accelerate market acceptance of PLA. Furthermore, in order to service customers in a timely manner, Total Corbion PLA has set up a local warehouse on the US continent to ensure short delivery times

At NPE, Total Corbion PLA will be showcasing a number of partner applications based on PLA to illustrate the range of possibilities offered by this versatile biopolymer. To showcase the high heat capabilities of PLA, visitors are welcome to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee at booth S35085, served in a PLA-lined cup. The cups have been supplied by EcNow Tech, who produce and distribute a number of sustainable alternative packaging applications under their Earth Smart range. The paper cups have a PLA lining that can withstand boiling water, and are a sustainable alternative to the traditional PE-lined variety based on oil-based plastics. The cups therefore have a lower carbon footprint, and can be industrially composted after use (where local facilities exist).

The range of applications being developed in high heat PLA is steadily increasing as sustainability gains ever greater importance throughout the value chain. Other high heat PLA applications on display at NPE include coffee capsules for Nespresso machines from ATI, take-away coffee cup lids from WinGram, tea bags from Nonwoven Network, heat stable IBM bottles from ERT and thermoformed thin-wall single-use coffee cups from Pack & Proper.

In addition to high heat PLA, a number of standard PLA applications will also be presented. A bioplastic thermoformed black platter for attractive presentation of foods such as cheese, sushi and finger food has been developed by Pack & Proper. It is made from Luminy® PLA and has been designed to exhibit a ‘stone-look’, slate appearance thanks to its surface shape, giving a more exclusive appearance to a single-use application.

Other examples of innovative PLA applications on display include PLA toys by GRABIO, DJ Toys and Genius Toy Taiwan, single-use PLA aprons from Gaia, thermoformed PLA packaging from Bio4Pack, PLA non-woven applications from Yangtze, PLA toothbrushes from PolyAlloy and foamed ice cream packaging from Synbra.


Visit Total Corbion PLA at booth S35085 to learn more about how you can make the switch to biobased PLA plastic.

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