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NatureWorks LLC is a U.S. company that manufactures bioplastics—polymers derived entirely from plant resources—as an alternative to conventional plastic, which is made from petroleum. The commercial quality polymer is made from the carbon found in simple plant sugars such as corn starch to create a proprietary polylactic acid polymer (PLA) which is marketed under the brand name Ingeo.〔("2002 Greener Reaction Conditions Award" ), United States Environmental Protection Agency〕 Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, NatureWorks is jointly owned by Cargill and PTT Global Chemical, a Thai state-owned company. ==History== In 2001, NatureWorks opened its manufacturing facility in Blair, Nebraska—the world's first and largest PLA facility and it supplies NatureWorks' Ingeo biopolymer. The Blair facility slated to increase its Ingeo nameplate capacity to 150,000 metric tons in the first quarter of 2013.〔( "NatureWorks Broadens Ingeo Product Portfolio with Sulzer Proprietary Production Equipment" ), ''Packaging Europe''〕 In 2007 Cargill, the parent company, entered into a joint venture with Japan's Teijin, which acquired a 50% stake in NatureWorks.〔("PTT Chemical invests $150M in NatureWorks, which heads for Thailand" ), ''Biofuels Digest'', October 12, 2011.〕 The partnership was dissolved in July 2009 when Teijin faced corporate restructuring in the wake of the Great Recession. NatureWorks is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, but its main manufacturing facility is in Blair, Nebraska, with additional offices Naarden, the Netherlands; Tokyo, Japan; and Bangkok, Thailand.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.natureworksllc.com/About-NatureWorks/Locations )〕 It was considering building an additional manufacturing plant in Thailand but due to the 2014 Thai coup d'état and related turmoil it had not committed. Other countries under consideration include Malaysia and Singapore. In 2013 NatureWorks sold 1 billion pounds of Ingeo. Its competitors in the bioplastics industry include DuPont, Braskem (BAK), Toray Industries, Lanxess AG, Bayer, BASF, and Eastman Chemical Company.〔("NatureWorks Aims to Create a World Beyond Plastic- and it's Building Manufacturing Power to Meet that Goal" ), ''Minnesota Business''〕 NatureWorks hosts a conference called "Innovation takes Root",〔("Innovation Takes Root" )〕 which brings together Ingeo Polymer users. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「NatureWorks」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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