Taking Corn to a New Level

The latest announcement this week is from Archer Daniels Midland Co. which is aligning with Metabolix, Inc., a Cambridge, Maine, a biotechnology firm that creates plastics from renewable resources. The companies plan to establish a 50,000-ton production facility and a joint venture to manufacture and market polymers used to make coated paper, film and molded goods. Raw materials including corn sugar are used in the process.

The biodegradable product to be manufactured is based on a proprietary fermentation technology developed and patented by Metabolix.

One point worth noting is that the scale of ADM's fermentation operations should make these materials available on a large enough scale that they can become a real factor in the marketplace and in the consumer's conscience.

Like any new product concept entering the market, building awareness, boosting production and providing products at a competitive prices are all essential to success. This announcement by ADM represents a major step in the right direction.