CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Metabolix, Inc. announced today that Jay Kouba has joined its Board of Directors. He brings to the Metabolix Board experience gained from a distinguished career in the petrochemical and polymer industries where he has excelled in the development and implementation of growth strategies based on technology and marketing leadership. He has held a variety of senior positions within the global petrochemical operations of BP PLC, most recently as Senior Vice President, Strategy, Marketing and Technology for Innovene, Inc. At the time of its sale by BP in 2005, Innovene was one of the world’s largest petrochemical and refining companies with $22 billion in sales.
“Jay Kouba’s exceptional experience and insight in the positioning of products and services in the petrochemical and polymer marketplace, together with his deep understanding of the energy markets, make him unusually well suited to the strategic worldwide opportunities open to Metabolix,” notes Jim Barber, Metabolix’s President and CEO. “We look forward to the contributions Jay will bring to our Board as we work to build a great industrial biotechnology company.”
About Metabolix
Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is a leader in using biotechnology to develop and commercialize environmentally sustainable alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics, fuels and chemicals. The Company takes a systems approach, from gene to end product, to integrate advanced biotechnology with current industrial practice to economically produce performance materials from renewable resources. The Company is working with Archer Daniels Midland Company to commercialize its proprietary microbial fermentation platform for production of Natural Plastics based on corn sugar. Metabolix is also developing a second technology platform to produce Natural Plastics directly in biomass energy crops such as switchgrass.
Natural Plastics can be used as alternatives to petrochemical plastics in a wide variety of applications, including coated paper, film or bags, and thermoformed and molded goods. They are produced using a fully biological process that converts agricultural raw materials into a versatile range of plastics with excellent durability in use but that also biodegrade benignly in a wide range of environments, including marine and wetlands. The company was awarded the Presidential Green Chemistry Award by the U.S. EPA in 2005 for its pathbreaking production technology. In March 2006, Archer Daniels Midland Company and Metabolix announced plans to build a 50,000 ton commercial plant for production of Natural Plastics in Clinton, Iowa, with start-up targeted in 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.metabolix.com.
Contact information: For Metabolix: James J. Barber Thomas G. Auchincloss President & CEO Chief Financial Officer (617) 492-0505 x225 (617) 492-0505 x221 barber@metabolix.comauchincloss@metabolix.comhttp://www.metabolix.comhttp://www.metabolix.com
Metabolix, Inc.
CONTACT: James J. Barber, President & CEO, +1-617-492-0505, ext. 225,barber@metabolix.com, or Thomas G. Auchincloss, Chief Financial Officer,+1-617-492-0505 ext. 221, auchincloss@metabolix.com, both of Metabolix,Inc.
Web site: http://www.metabolix.com/
