Diemen, the Netherlands, April 4, 2008 – The new state-of-the-art lactic acid plant of CSM subsidiary PURAC in Rayong, Thailand has officially been opened on April 4, 2008 with a grand ceremony attended by the Secretary General of the Thailand Board of Investment, the Governor of Rayong province, the Dutch Ambassador as well as many other distinguished guests.
The new Thailand facility will reinforce PURAC’s position as the world’s largest manufacturer of naturallactic acid, lactic acid derivatives and lactides and is key to PURAC’s global manufacturing footprint, including the fast-growing Asia Pacific region.
It will also supply the European lactic acid derivatives plants and serve as base for large-scale operations in lactides for PLA (Poly-Lactic Acid, ingredient for the production of bio-plastics). The capacity of the Thailand facility is 100,000 tons of lactic acid and 15,000 tons of lactates per year.
The development, construction and start-up of the plant have been very successful. The plant was completed on time with 4,500,000 safe working hours. From the commencement of production in November 2007, the products have met PURAC’s high quality specifications.