NatureWorks’ board of directors named Richard Altice as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Marc Verbruggen, who led the company from 2008 to his retirement in 2017.
Altice comes to NatureWorks from PolyOne Corporation where he was Senior Vice President and President – Designed Structures and Solutions. At PolyOne, he had global responsibility for the sheet, roll stock, and formed packaging business. Prior to PolyOne, Altice also served as Vice President of Hexion’s global specialty epoxy business focused on coatings and composites. Altice holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology.
“We are pleased to welcome Rich as NatureWorks’ CEO. Rich is an exemplary leader. He brings broad experience and demonstrated success in international business, strategic marketing, and building highly effective teams to serve customers in the polymer and chemical industry,” said Peter Hawthorne, Chairman of the Board. “We believe Rich’s leadership will advance market development and the adoption of NatureWorks’ performance materials in new applications.”
“Through my prior work experience, I became familiar with NatureWorks and thought very highly of the company and its products,” said Altice. “I believe that the NatureWorks culture, the company’s leadership, and the market interest in renewably sourced advanced polymers and chemicals presents an exciting opportunity and time to be a part of the NatureWorks journey. I feel fortunate to have been selected as the company’s new president and CEO.”
NatureWorks was the first company to offer commercially available low-carbon-footprint bioplastics derived from 100-percent annually renewable resources. Recently, NatureWorks reached the milestone of two billion pounds of Ingeo™ biopolymer sold globally via its comprehensive portfolio of 33 grades, which are converted into thousands of consumer and industrial products. In 2017, the company launched a performance chemicals business with the new Vercet™ platform for adhesives and coatings. Along with its customers and supply chain partners, NatureWorks continues to introduce new, innovative Ingeo-based applications across a spectrum of industries, including expanded offerings for 3D printing filaments, a first-of-its-kind liner to increase the energy efficiency of refrigerators, and hydrophilic nonwovens for absorbent hygiene products. With leading coffee companies, NatureWorks is developing a new generation of high performance compostable capsules for single-serve coffee makers.
These applications and more will be discussed at Innovation Takes Root, the international forum on advanced biomaterials, this September in San Diego, Calif. “I’m looking forward to the conference where I can meet with the many customers and innovation leaders that are driving material change across this industry,” said Altice.
Source: NatureWorks
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) today announced that it has closed its acquisition of Incitec Pivot Limited’s (“IPL”) ammonia production complex located in Waggaman, Louisiana. Under the terms of the agreement, CF Industries purchased the Waggaman ammonia plant and related assets for $1.675 billion, subject to adjustments.
The Virgin Atlantic flight was powered entirely by SAF, that was a drop-in replacement for conventional jet fuel, but made solely from sustainable feedstocks. This was enabled through the inclusion of a new bio-based aromatic jet fuel blending component.
Cepsa SA (Madrid) has agreed a deal with C2X, an independent firm owned by AP Moller Holding with AP Moller-Maersk as minority owner, to develop a 300,000 metric tons per year renewable methanol plant at Huelva, Spain.