Accsys, the fast-growing and eco-friendly company that combines chemistry and technology to create high performance, sustainable wood building products, and Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN), world leader in the production of acetyls, have formed a joint venture company, Accoya USA LLC. The joint venture intends to construct and operate an Accoya® wood production plant to serve the North American market.
The new company has been formed and a technology licence entered into so that front-end engineering and design for the proposed plant in the USA can be completed. Accsys’ share of the initial engineering and design costs is expected to be approximately €1.5million, in-line with the use of proceeds from the Company’s fundraise in December last year. The plant is being designed to initially produce approximately 40,000 cubic metres (~17 million board feet) of Accoya® per annum and to allow for cost-effective expansion.
A decision to proceed to the next stage with plant construction, and as to funding, is expected to be made following the initial engineering and design work which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of the 2021 calendar year. A further update will be made at the time by Accsys as to the next steps of the project.
Rob Harris, CEO of Accsys, commented:
“Accsys’ purpose is ‘changing wood to change the world’, and together with our work in Arnhem and Hull, this joint venture with Eastman represents a further step forward for our growth strategy. While evaluation works are at an early stage we are excited about the prospect of increasing our total production capacity and global presence, increasing the positive impact we can have on the world.”
Paul Mitchell, Director of Strategy and Business Development of Eastman, commented:
“Sustainability is at the heart of Eastman’s values and strategy, and as the global leader in acetic anhydride production Accoya® represents a great opportunity: using one of our specialty products to create a material that offers architects, builders, specifiers and homeowners a choice to build more sustainably.”