Bioplastics maker Meredian Inc. didn't have to go far to find a new investor.
That investor is Perry-McCall Construction Inc., the Jacksonville, Fla.-based construction firm that's also the builder of Meredian's $70 million PHA bioresin plant in Bainbridge, Ga. The amount of Perry-McCall's investment in Bainbridge-based Meredian wasn't included in an Aug. 13 news release.
“We are extremely excited about the project, because [Meredian] has found a way to clean up landfills,” Perry-McCall co-founder Wayne McCall said in the release. “While it takes 500 to 1,000 years for petroleum to break down, these bioplastics only take five to six weeks.”
“The environmental and economic impacts are huge,” he added. “And for us being design contractors, the product Meredian produces can develop more business for us.”
Meredian-brand PHA is based on oils from soybeans, cottonseed or corn. The resins can be used in films, extrusion coatings, bottles and other rigid packaging.
The investment comes less than two months after Meredian officials said the firm was working with investment bank Piper Jaffray to find additional investors. In late July, Meredian merged with its sister firm, Danimer Scientific. Danimer in 2007 had purchased the PHA technology used by Meredian from consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Co.