Monsanto says it is planning a new cotton seed processing facility in Lubbock, Texas. Construction of the $140 million facility is expected to begin in March and be completed in the second half of 2017.
The facility will employ about 40 full-time personnel and will be Monsanto’s primary U.S. hub for all commercial cotton seed processing operations, including cleaning, treating, and bagging. Existing processing facilities will transition to support storage and warehousing, precommercial operations, and research.
“Bringing people, processes and technology together at a new, state-of-the-art cotton facility in Lubbock will boost collaboration and efficiency within our manufacturing organization,” says Dave Penn, cotton manufacturing lead at Monsanto. “Furthermore, its geographic location in Lubbock, Texas, will allow for better alignment with the cotton industry and help us better serve customers across the Cotton Belt.”
Advanced technology at the new hub will also allow for better data capture, and automating processes will improve both manufacturing effectiveness and personnel safety, Penn adds.
Existing cotton seed processing facilities in Arizona, Mississippi and Texas will continue to support manufacturing operations until summer 2017, at which point they will transition to support storage and warehousing, precommercial operations, or research. Manufacturing employees who are offered the opportunity to relocate will also have the option to receive a severance package in the event they choose not to relocate.
By Rebecca Coons
Source: Chemical Week
The US State of New York is introducing two new bills to combat over-packaging, poor recycling rates and litter issues, including an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program requiring companies such as McDonald’s and Amazon to pay for the cost of packaging disposal and recycling.
The new organization’s mission is to redesign the critical steps of the plastics sorting and recycling system for post-consumer lightweight packaging (LWP) to speed up circularity, born from a need to meet the rising market demand for high-quality recyclates for use in high-end plastic applications.
Starbucks and Hubbub have launched a £1 million (US$1.22 million) “Bring It Back Fund” to increase the uptake of reusable packaging in the F&B industry. The funding will go toward innovative ideas that make it easier for customers to use alternatives to single-use packaging by supporting pilot projects that help shift consumption habits.