"Bio-plastic production coming to Seymour" (IN)

ereplast, a designer and manufacturer of bio-based plastic resin, announced today it will locate what is billed as the world’s largest bio-based plastic resin manufacturing and distribution facility in Seymour, creating up to 200 new jobs.

The Hawthorne, Calif. company designs, manufactures and distributes plastic resin based on plant starches instead of petroleum.

It will initially invest more than $7 million to equip an existing 100,000-square-foot industrial building, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. said in a news release.

"Cereplast is exactly the kind of business that we’re most interested in attracting. A unique company like this that has market-changing possibilities and the potential for rapid growth is a big win for Indiana," said Gov. Mitch Daniels in a statement.

The six-year-old company manufactures two families of plastic resins based on biopolymers and mixtures of plant starches.

Its Cereplast Compostables product line, which has earned certification as biodegradable and compostable in the United States and Europe, replaces 100 percent of the petroleum-based additives found in traditional plastics with renewable, plant-based starches.

Its Cereplast Hybrid Resins replaces half or more of the petroleum-based content in plastic resin with bio-based compounds such as cornstarch or tapioca starch.

The IEDC offered Cereplast up to $665,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $60,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans.

Indiana will provide Seymour with a grant of up to $200,000 to assist in off-site infrastructure improvements needed to serve the new facility.