Sacramento Inno

West Sacramento-based Origin Materials Inc. said it's formed a partnership agreement with Terphane, which has reserved capacity to buy Origin’s non-petroleum-sourced precursor to plastic for multiple years.

Terphane is part of Richmond, Virginia-based Tredegar Corp. (NYSE: TG), which makes flexible and transparent plastic films for packaging, films for surface protection and extruded aluminum products.

"We are thrilled to work together to develop advanced, performance-enhanced products that help to enable a net-zero-material economy,” said Origin co-CEO Rich Riley, in a news release.

Origin (Nasdaq: ORGN) has developed patented processes to turn wood waste materials into zero-carbon plastic that doesn’t use petroleum products. The company just completed its first large-scale production plant for zero-carbon plastic ingredients in Sarnia, Ontario.

Terphane plans to use the products in film applications, including food and beverage packaging and high-value industrial applications. The bio-derived ingredients are drop-in replacements for petroleum-sourced plastic precursors, Origin said.

Terphane makes its strong and stretchy polymer films for a variety of uses, including food packaging and electrical insulation.

"The development of this film will be critical to our efforts to meet this new global demand for sustainable flexible packaging solutions,” said Marcos Vieira, Terphane’s global director of research and development, in a news release.

The films made from Origin’s bio-derived products will be recyclable.

Origin has agreements with global chemical companies including South Korean industrial conglomerate Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. and Thailand-based Indorama Ventures, the world's largest producer of PET plastic resins.

Origin already has many high-profile consumer brand companies committed to using its products, including Paris-based international luxury brand company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, New York-based cosmetics powerhouse Revlon Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP).

Origin, a 2008 startup, had early financial backing from users of plastic materials, including Mitsubishi Group, Nestle SA, Danone SA and Pepsi.

In its first-quarter financial report, Origin said it had capacity reservations in excess of $9.3 billion for its products over the next decade. The company said at that time that it will no longer discuss capacity reservations.

The Sarnia plant was a $130 million investment. Origin is also in the process of developing its second manufacturing plant, in Louisiana. That plant is estimated to be a $1.1 billion investment. Origin is also in planning for a third plant, as well as potential licensing agreements with other manufacturers, the company has said.