A United Kingdom bioplastics start-up, Floreon, is seeking new collaborative partners to demonstrate and take to market specific applications.
In an Aug. 21 statement the Anlaby, England-based company said it had gained global patents protecting a range of polylactic acid (PLA) formulations with improved flow and impact properties and was looking for “innovative collaborative” partners to demonstrate the technical performance and as a route to market for its technology.
“We'd like to make it clear that we are a technology company, not a manufacturer. We are bioplastics specialists with patented technology, which we're looking to license to producers and users,” said CEO Shaun Chatterton.
Floreon is a specially-formulated compound, which is added to standard bioplastic PLA to create an material with a sustainable origin and a range of end of life options.
It was created after four years of research and a knowledge transfer partnership with the University of Sheffield in the U.K..
Commenting on the future partners, Chatterton said it “could be a compounder who can use our additive technology in their own formulations, a manufacturer or converter looking to work with us to develop new products or even an additive or raw material supplier.”
Another option for Floreon is to collaborate with 3D printer OEM's or filament suppliers who can use the improved properties of Floreon's enhanced PLA filament to give them an additional new product line.
“We have developed our technology into a range of demonstrator formulations for applications such as injection molding, blow molding, extrusion and of course 3D printing,” Chatterton went on to say.
For now, Floreon compounds are currently produced by a toll manufacturer in the U.K. and the commercial strategy is based on a case study approach, demonstrating the benefits that PLA with Floreon's additives can bring versus competing products.
