Kalamazoo, MI (April 13, 2010) – This week, many of the nation’s brightest minds behind biopolymers and IngeoTM strategy and development will gather in Dallas, TX, at the NatureWorks 2010 Innovation Takes Root Conference. This convention, a global forum that will gather R&D researchers, product developers, marketers and sales experts, offers a platform for sharing and discussing the latest developments, ideas and strategies surrounding biopolymers and IngeoTM technology.
Fabri-Kal, a pioneer in innovative new product development and the eighth largest thermoformer in North America, is pleased to announce that Dave McIntosh, Senior Process Engineer with Fabri-Kal, has been selected to speak on the topic of marketing green food serviceware.
McIntosh will discuss the journey that Greenware®, a line of renewable cold drink cups, portion cups and lids made entirely from plant-based IngeoTM biopolymer, has had at Fabri-Kal. McIntosh will also present thoughts on lessons learned in the commercialization of biopolymer products and offer insights into the future growth path of bio-based materials and technology.
New challenges will also need to be addressed in how the industry measures and markets sustainability and deals with public misconceptions about packaging and waste. Fabri-Kal believes that clearing up public misconceptions about plastics is a good place to start.
“The industry needs to encourage leaders in our general public to look at what the problems and potential solutions really are and accept that some of the things that ‘feel good’ aren’t really as good as we think,” said Dave McIntosh, Senior Process Engineer at Fabri-Kal. “Plastics really need to be considered as part of a solution to a more sustainable society, not a problem that needs to be eliminated. Proper, intelligent use of plastics is a huge part of the solution.”
McIntosh graduated from Northeastern University in Boston and University of New Hampshire and began his plastics career in 1974. He has been actively involved with new material, product and process development in both resin manufacturing and converting ever since. He was the overall project manager for the development and commercialization of Fabri-Kal’s Greenware® cold drink cup line and continues to lead Fabri-Kal’s efforts to expand the range of bio-based and sustainable materials and processes.
Source: Fabri-Kal