Connell Brothers inks 2 million pound per year sales, distribution contract for Verdezyne renewable chemicals

March 10, 2016 | Jim Lane

In California, Verdezyne and Connell Bros. signed an exclusive agreement for sales and distribution of Verdezyne’s BIOLON DDDA (biobased dodecanedioic acid or DC12). BIOLON DDDA will be produced at Verdezyne’s commercial-scale plant in Malaysia and will be distributed in 17 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, including China, Japan and South Korea. CBC is the largest Marketer and distributor of specialty chemicals in Asia-Pacific, the companies said.

Verdezyne’s plant, expected to be completed in 2017, is anticipated to have the capacity to produce up to 9,000 metric tons of diacids including BIOLON DDDA annually, or 20 million pounds. The agreement assures CBC of access to more than 10% of the expected plant capacity, or at least 2 million pounds.

Verdezyne’s BIOLON DDDA is produced more sustainably than traditional petroleum-derived intermediate chemicals and will be used to make a variety of end-user products including automotive parts, toothbrush bristles, cosmetics, and fragrances.

Visualizing Verdezyne

Funded and scaling: The Digest’s 2015 8-Slide Guide to Verdezyne

Mirroring the European distribution deal

Last June, Verdezyne and Will & Co, announced a not completelydissimilar distribution agreement for BIOLON DDDA. Verdezyne CEO Bill Radany said at the time, ““This agreement with Will & Co is an important milestone for us because it reflects the strong demand for renewable chemicals and the demonstrated high quality of our product.”

Meanwhile, Will & Co. Managing Director Jacques van Lindonk added, “For some time, our customers have been asking us for an alternative to petroleum-derived chemicals, and Verdezyne’s BIOLON DDDA fits the bill perfectly,” commented

Why is this a big deal?

As we pointed out in “The Magic Word is…Adipic”, renewable chemicals are the breakout set of products we are reliably assured will lead eventually to the global revolution in materials — The Materials Superhighway, including fuels, chemicals, and materials from silks to steel.

What can you make with DDDA?

Verdezyne’s BIOLON DDDA will be used to make engineering polymer resins, automotive parts, toothbrush bristles, cosmetics, fragrances, and more. It will be produced at Verdezyne’s commercial-scale plant in Malaysia. The agreement secures off-take for over 25% of the expected plant capacity.

The scale-up story

The company’s first commercial is impending. Verdezyne and Bio-XCell Malaysia have reached an agreement to construct Verdezyne’s first commercial-scale renewable chemicals manufacturing facility in Bio-XCell’s premier biotechnology and ecosystem park in Nusajaya, Iskandar, in southern Malaysia. The multi-faceted agreement includes the 13-year, renewable lease of a 6.9-acre site, as well as a loan of approximately $75 million from Bio-XCell.

In April 2014, the company cleared a key technical milestone in producing more than one metric ton of bio-based DDDA using its proprietary yeast platform and downstream process. The Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI) and the Michigan State University (MSU) Bioeconomy Institute (BEI) worked with Verdezyne to run the bio-based DDDA process at the 4,000-liter scale. This production confirmed the scalability of Verdezyne’s process and produced polymer-grade material for potential customers and partners.

Reaction from the stakeholders

“This agreement with CBC reflects the strong interest in high quality renewable chemicals such as our BIOLON DDDA,” said E. William Radany, Ph.D., president and CEO of Verdezyne. “As one of the largest and most respected distributors of specialty chemicals in the Asia-Pacific region, CBC is a strong partner for us. We are sure this agreement marks the beginning of a long and mutually-beneficial relationship.”

“Verdezyne presented us with a very strong value proposition,” commented Scott Graddy, vice president, CBC. “We anticipate a strong demand for BIOLON DDDA from our customers in Asia-Pacific. We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Verdezyne and we look forward to distributing BIOLON DDDA throughout the region.”