PRESS RELEASE
Fashion Development Materials is born,
the new Bio-on business unitdedicated to
bioplastic materials for fashion and the luxury
sector.
- FDM, Fashion Development Materials, is added
to the 5 business units that
Bio-on created a year ago.
- A dedicated team will develop new materials based on Minerv PHA
bioplastics, 100% natural and biodegradable, targeting the fashion
and luxury industry.
- The new materials also respond to the need to reduce the
pollution caused by synthetic fibers that are released into the
environment. A dramatic phenomenon similar to that caused by
plastic microbeads used in cosmetics that pollute seas and
rivers.
- The strategy of setting up the business units has generated
important results in just one year, allowing to optimize the
company organization the company and to accelerate the ability to
respond to the growing demand for PHA bioplastics coming from
different sectors.
Bologna, 3rd September 2018 –
Bio-on, listed on the AIM segment of the Italian
Stock Market – Borsa Italiana and operating in the sector of
bioplastic of high quality, presents today the new business unit
Fashion Development Material (FDM) specialized in
the development of new high-tech materials for the fashion
and luxury industry, based on Minerv PHA bioplastics, natural and
100% biodegradable. The goal is to identify processes,
technologies and patents to produce fabrics, yarns, flexible
surfaces, films, etc. made of bioplastic and designed to replace
today's materials, many of which are synthetic and polluting.
«The search for innovative and eco-sustainable
materials, which respect the environment and people, is now a
priority also in the luxury and fashion sector - explains
Marco Astorri, President and CEO of
Bio-on - and today the creativity of the best
designers is expressed also through the choice of natural and
biodegradable materials. We are already collaborating with some of
the most important worldwide fashion brands and thanks to this
experience we launch today our sixth business unit to respond to
the market in a more rapid, timely and personalized way».
The materials, which will be developed by a
dedicated team, respond also to the need to reduce the pollution
caused by the synthetic fibers that are used today by the fashion
industry and that, invisibly, are released at each washing, ending
up in the environment and seas. A dramatic situation similar to
that caused by the plastic micro-beads used in cosmetics that
pollute seas and rivers. In both cases Bio-on has developed
innovative solutions starting from PHA bioplastics, which comes
from a completely organic process and are 100% biodegradable.
Fashion Development Material
(FDM) is added to the 5 business units that Bio-on created
one year ago: Bio-on Plants; Cosmetic,
Nanomedicine & Smart Materials (CNS); Recovery
and Fermentation (RAF); Engineering
(ENG) e Structural Materials Development
(SMD).
In the last 12 months, the activities of the
business units, in addition to representing an optimization of the
company organization, have allowed the development of the Bio-on
business model through the creation of "newco" dedicated to
specific market sectors. Thanks to the recognized potential and the
positive impact that Bio-on biopolymers can generate, these new
companies have attracted the attention and entry as business
partner of some of the most important players in the reference
markets.
All the Minerv
PHA bioplastics
(polyhydroxyalkanoates)
developed by Bio-on are made from renewable plant
sources with no competition with food supply chains. They guarantee
the same thermo-mechanical properties as conventional plastics with
the advantage of being 100% eco-sustainable and naturally
biodegradable.
Here's what the 5 Business
Units launched on 31st of August 2017 from Bio-on do:
Bio-on plants
It manages the first Bio-on production plant
inaugurated on 20th of June 2018 in Castel San Pietro Terme near
Bologna, where the company has invested 20 million euros. The new
plant is located over an area of 30,000 m2, 3,700 of which is
covered and 6,000 m2 for building. It is the result of a
reconversion of a former factory (without occupying new land) in
which the best technologies currently available on the market have
been used. Bio-on Plants has followed and coordinated the
construction, will take care of future expansions and the
construction of new plants. In the last year Bio-on Plants has
managed important "numbers". 380 piles of 30 meters high and with a
diameter of 600 mm; 3,500m3 of concrete; 480,000 kg of
reinforcement iron; 680,000 kg of erected steal structures; 130,000
hours of work.
Headquarters: Castel San Pietro Terme
(Bologna)
CNS
The CNS Business Unit (Cosmetic, Nanomedicine
& Smart Materials) deals with the development and
commercialization of functionalized biomaterials and devices,
capable of providing "Ultra-Green Performance" exploiting the
unique characteristics of biodegradability in water and
biocompatibility typical of PHA bioplastics.The areas of activity
are Cosmetics, Biomedical, Nutraceutical, Bioremediation, Organic
Electronic, Smart Materials. In particular in the world of
cosmetics through the development of micro powders for the
replacement of the current polluting and environmentally harmful
plastics. Over the last year, the CNS Smart Labs, a highly-equipped
research center, has been completed in record time, thanks to an
investment of 2 million euros, it is spread over an area of over
400 square meters and divided into 5 thematic areas. CNS has
realised the "Powder Boutique" laboratory, a sort
of technological tailoring, which develops the technologies and
know-how to modify the morphology of the biopolymers in order to
maximize performances with respect to the applications. The
researchers of the CNS business unit have generated a huge IP
portfolio consisting of different patents and international patent
applications (PCT).
Headquarters: Castel San Pietro Terme
(Bologna)
SMD
This Business Unit is in charge of developing
different product grades for injection, extrusion, thermoforming
and film coating technologies. The structural materials are
basically those obtained starting from granules or pellets. As a
rule, they are large or complex plastic items with high-performing
forms and functions.In the last year the SMD Business Unit has
developed, among others, new formulations suitable for the
realisation of food containers with high impact resistance
materials. It continued the development of Minerv Supertoys, the
bioplastic grades designed for toys with the highest safety
standards for use by children.The activity also focused on the
development of a new fully biodegradable food packaging with
barrier performance that allows at least 10% extension of the
"shelf life", thus overcoming the obstacles in the performance that
have, so far, limited the use of totally biodegradable biopolymers
in food applications.
Headquarters: Bentivoglio (Bologna)
RAF
This Business Unit deals with the research and
development of new agricultural wastes to be used in fermentation
for the production of PHA biopolymers, the demonstration and
scale-up of new plants for the fermentation and recovery of PHAs
biopolymers with a high degree of purity. Over the last year, the
number of trials has increased through the application of new
technologies in the fermentation processes and thankjs to the
increase of bioreactors available. New cell lines able to produce
bioplastic were also identified. RAF has tripled the fermentation
units in recent months. Operators also increased exponentially with
the introduction of 10 new employees. This led to a doubling of
production capacity linked to research and development
activities.
Headquarters: Castel San Pietro Terme
(Bologna)
ENG
This Business Unit develops and supplies the
complete documentation on dedicated and bankable industrial
feasibility studies: Project description, Designation list,
Standards, Design Criteria, Process, Process control system,
Storage and Warehouse, Utilities, Electrical Installation.
Industrial scale-up with the production modules definitions. It
realizes complete process design packages (PDPs) from the
laboratory to the industrial scale production plant with production
modules of 5, 10, 20 thousand tons / year. Bio-on / ENG has taken
care of the commissioning and start-up phase of the plant in
Bologna (in addition to those granted under license) through the
drafting of the necessary protocols and procedures.In the life
cycle of the projects, Bio-on / ENG follows the initial phase of
the authorization process and has carried out project management
activities for the multidisciplinary engineering phases,
procurement of materials and equipment necessary for the plant and
subcontracting for the execution of the works of construction and
assembly.
SEDE: Bio-on S.p.A. (Bologna)
Press info: Simona
Vecchies +393351245190 – press@bio-on.it – Twitter
@BioOnBioplastic
Bio-on S.p.A.Bio-on S.p.A., an
Italian Intellectual Property Company (IPC), operates in the
bioplastic sector conducting applied research and development of
modern bio-fermentation technologies in the field of
eco-sustainable and completely naturally biodegradable materials.
In particular, Bio-on develops industrial applications through the
creation of product characterisations, components and plastic
items. Since February 2015, Bio-on S.p.A. has also been operating
in the development of natural and sustainable chemicals for the
future. Bio-on has developed an exclusive process for the
production of a family of polymers called PHAs
(polyhydroxyalkanoates) from agricultural waste (including molasses
and sugar cane and sugar beet syrups). The bioplastic produced in
this way is able to replace the main families of traditional
plastics in terms of performance, thermo-mechanical properties and
versatility. Bio-on PHAs is a bioplastic that can be classified as
100% bio-based, certified by USDA (United States Department of
Agriculture), and completely biodegradable, certified by Vincotte.
The company's strategy envisages the marketing of licenses for PHAs
production and related ancillary services, the development of
R&D projects (also through new collaborations with
universities, research centers and industrial partners), as well as
the realisation of industrial plants designed by Bio-on.
IssuerBio-On S.p.A.Via Dante 7/b40016 San
Giorgio di Piano (BO)Tel: +39 051 893001 info@bio-on.it |
Nomad EnVent
Capital Markets Ltd25 Savile Row W1S 2ER LondonTel. +44
7557879200Italian BranchVia Barberini, 95 00187 RomaTel: +39 06
896841 pverna@envent.it |
SpecialistBanca Finnat Euramerica
S.p.A. Piazza del Gesù, 4900186 RomaLorenzo ScimiaTel: +39 06
69933446 l.scimia@finnat.it |
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