EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. — Bioplastics maker Cereplast Inc. is moving its headquarters from California to Indiana in a move that will save the firm at least $600,000 per year.
Cereplast's current headquarters site in El Segundo, Calif., will be closed in favor of Seymour, Ind., where the firm operates a bioplastics plant. Cereplast also is moving its European headquarters from Bonen, Germany, to Milan, Italy, resulting in the closure of the Bonen office.
Both moves were announced by in a May 7 news release.
"After a thorough analysis, we determined that it would be prudent to consolidate our operations under one roof in the USA and under one roof in Europe," Chairman and CEO Frederic Scheer said.
Preliminary first-quarter revenue for Cereplast was between $900,000 and $1 million — exceeding the firm's total sales for full-year 2012. Almost two-thirds of Cereplast's first-quarter sales came from Italy, where merchants now are required to discontinue the use of traditional single-use plastic bags in favor of bioplastic bags or other alternatives.
Cereplast is looking to recover from 2012, a year in which the firm lost more than $10 million on sales of $900,000. The firm missed two debt payments during the year.
Recent growth initiatives for Cereplast include increased sales from India — where government officials are trying to curb plastic pollution — and commercialization of a bioplastic made of 51 percent algae biomass.
Cereplast's per-share stock price was just over 2 cents in early trading May 7. The price had been near 6 cents in early February.