For Editorial Information:
Michael O’Brien, michael_o’brien@cargilldow.com
Cargill Dow LLC
Phone: (952) 742-0523
or,
Steve Halsey, shalsey@gibbs-soell.com
Jennifer Gray, jgray@gibbs-soell.com
Gibbs & Soell Public Relations
Phone: (847) 519-9150
or,
Kazuko Kimoto, kkimoto@dow.com
Cargill Dow LLC.
Phone:03-5460-2201
Keiji Suda, keiji.suda@mitsui-chem.co.jp
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Phone: 03-3592-4060
Cargill Dow LLC and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. Announce
Collaboration on PLA Business Development
Tokyo – September 26, 2001 – Cargill Dow LLC and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. have announced a
collaboration for business development of PLA; a new polymer material made from renewable resources.
Cargill Dow, the global leader in commercialization of PLA, and Mitsui Chemicals, a leading Japanese
chemical company have signed a collaboration agreement to accelerate market development for PLA in
Japan and the rest of the world. Under the terms of the agreement, there will be an exchange of
intellectual property and technical information relating to PLA application development. Through this
arrangement, customers for both parties will be in a position to proceed with business development
without concerns of potential intellectual property restrictions from Cargill Dow or Mitsui Chemicals
portfolios. Mitsui Chemicals will receive exclusive business development rights to sell PLA resin in
Japan.
“Japan is the most developed region in the world for PLA,” said Randy Howard, president of Cargill Dow
LLC. “The agreement with Mitsui Chemicals is an ideal agreement for both companies. It marks another
significant step in the development of the new industrial revolution where annually renewable resources
replace petroleum-based materials.”
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Cargill Dow and Mitsui Chemicals
Page 2
PLA is a naturally based resin made from plant sugars derived from feedstock such as corn in United
States. The development and manufacturing of PLA relies on basic fermentation and distillation as its
core chemical process, followed by simple polymerization to