Tokyo, Japan, Apr. 25--Toray Industries Inc., a leading synthetic fiber maker, and Cargill Dow LLC have made an agreement for Toray to manufacture and sell fiber products developed by Cargill Dow.
Toray also plans to develop a broad range of applications, including clothing and interior decoration materials, for a fiber made from corn based polylactic acid (PLA), targeting annual sales of 4,000 tons with sales revenue of $10 billion by 2005.
Based on the agreement, Toray will produce Ingeo fiber, the world's first man made fiber derived from 100% annually renewable resources, in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. Toray will also manufacture Ingeo textiles in Japan and other countries in Asia and Europe.
Under the agreement, Toray will sell Ingeo fibers and textiles globally using Cargill Dow's Ingeo brand for items ranging from fiber and yarns to textile products.
Toray will aim initially at developing and marketing Ingeo fiber products for industrial and daily use such as in carpets, bedding and industrial materials, taking advantage of the fiber's bio-degradability and germ resistance.
