Apologies for Cross-Postings
From: "Ralph Ryder" <Ralph.Ryder@no.address>
Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 16:25:40 -0000
press release from june 2004. FYI
News Release
June 2004
MBA Polymers and Guangzhou Iron and Steel Joint Venture Holds Major
Groundbreaking Event for New Plant in Guangzhou
(June 25, 2004) - MBA Polymers, Inc. (MBA) of Richmond, California,
USA and Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Holdings, Ltd. (GISE) of
Guangzhou, China celebrated the beginning of the construction of
their state-of-the-art plastics recycling facility in the Nansha
Development Area of Guangzhou, China, with a major groundbreaking ceremony.
The new Joint Venture, called GISE-MBA New Plastics Technology Co.
Ltd. (GMP), will process highly mixed plastics from the recycling of
durable goods such as appliances and electrical equipment. This
recycling is taking place on a very large scale in countries like
Japan, Taiwan, Korea and all over Europe, where the producer-
responsibility and take-back recycling legislation has been
implemented. China has also announced the introduction of such legislation.
GISE and MBA held the official groundbreaking ceremony at the 18,000
square meter site in the Nansha Development Zone of Guangzhou on
which GMP will build a 40,000-ton per year plastic recycling plant.
The Nansha Development Area is one of the most rapidly developing
economic zones in China and GMP will be joined by a new Toyota
automobile plant, a GISE-JFE (large Japanese steel company) joint
venture 400,000 ton per year steel plant, Honda and BASF. In fact,
GE Plastics' largest compounding plant in China is nearly next-door.
Many distinguished guests including Mayor Chen Mingde of Guangzhou
and Deputy Consul General Linda Donahue of the U.S. attended the ceremony.
Speakers included: GISE Chairman, Jinxi Yuan, GISE President, Wang
Cheng Li; MBA CEO and cofounder, Dr. Mike Biddle; Guangzhou Vice
Mayor, Mingde Chen; and US Deputy Consulate General, Ms. Linda Donahue.
All of the speakers noted how this JV represented an important
business for both companies but also provided significant social and
environmental benefits as well. The speakers pointed out that the
benefits extended beyond the Guangzhou boundaries and out to many
generations to come. The speakers noted that this plant will set a
very positive example for China and the rest of the world,
especially as China is putting increasing G emphasis on the environment.
In conversations after the official ceremony, Dr. Biddle provided
some examples of the benefits that are particularly important to China:
"China is the second largest consumer of plastics in the world and
imports more plastics than any country in the world. Its need for
plastics is also growing faster than any country in the world.
Rather than build expensive and energy-consuming chemical plants,
our company provides a way for China to make the plastics it needs
for its growth but at significantly lower economic and environmental costs."
Two examples of the environmental benefits include:
1. Similar to aluminum recycling, MBA's process consumes much less
energy than it takes to make the equivalent amount of plastics from
traditional chemical plants. This significant benefit will obviously
become even more important as oil becomes more scarce and expensive.
2. For every single ton of "new" plastics replaced, 2-3 tons of the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is kept from being emitted into the
atmosphere! This has significant implications for the entire world
as global warming is beginning to cause significant changes to the
environment and life on our planet.
Dr. Biddle said: "This is an industry-changing event. It will soon
become clear to many others than just MBA Polymers that building
more sustainable plastics businesses is in the best long-term
interest of the industry and is a very attractive approach to
producing plastics, both from an economical and environmental perspective."
About MBA Polymers, Inc. (MBA) www.mbapolymers.com
MBA, located in Richmond, California, USA, operates a
state-of-the-art research, demonstration, and commercial plastics
recycling facility. MBA is considered the world leader at the
recycling plastics from end-of-life durable products. In 2002, MBA
won the 2002 Edison award for Innovation and was identified as one
of America's Most Innovative companies by Inc. magazine.
About Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (GISE) www.chinagis.com
GISE, with sales of well over $1 Billion USD annually, is the
largest company producing steel in Southern China. The company has
its headquarters in Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong Province.
Besides operating steel mills, GISE was the first company in China
to establish a metal shredding and recycling operation and is the
largest importer of scrap steel in Southern China. GISE is further
diversified into nonferrous metals and other business activities.
Additional Information: Dr. Mike Biddle, CEO, mbiddle@no.address,
510-231-9031, ext. 101.
A short background on the opportunity and business is provided
below. More information can be obtained from MBA's website:
www.mbapolymers.com. Higher resolution photos available on request
at: mbiddle@no.address
Background on the business and opportunity
Billions of pounds per year of this equipment are already being
shredded to recover the metals. What remains after the shredding and
metal recovery processes is billions of pounds of mixed plastics.
These highly mixed plastic streams represent a valuable resource,
but are too complicated to be recycled by traditional techniques and
are usually land-filled or incinerated.
MBA has worked for over ten years and invested over $28 million to
develop its state-of-the-art technology and this new plastics
business. Over those ten years, MBA has worked with government
agencies and trade organizations around the world, the plastics
industry, and the largest computer, electronics, appliance and
automobile companies in the world to provide a better home for the
plastics from end-of-life durable products and to provide the
manufacturers with "green" materials for their new products. These
efforts help create more sustainable manufacturing activities in all
of the connected industries: automotive, appliances, computers and
business equipment, electronics, and plastics.
MBA has operated several generations of a large pilot plant at its
headquarters in Richmond, CA, for over six years, and has produced
and sold plastics on a commercial scale. This new plant, however,
will be the first large-scale commercial plant using its advanced
technology. MBA considers this announcement a major milestone in the
company's history.
--
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