PMC Biogenix gets chemical boost

Trend toward oleo-based products spurs expansion

Memphis Business Journal
Jan 29, 2010
By Michael Sheffield

PMC Biogenix, a subsidiary of Mount Laurel, N.J.-based PMC Group, Inc., has launched a new center for renewable chemistry at its Memphis plant. The companys investment in the new center was not disclosed.

Biogenix develops oleochemicals for use in the manufacture of plastics, construction materials, automobile materials, food and lubricants. Oleochemicals, derived from biological materials like plants and animal fats, are used in products ranging from coatings for pharmaceuticals to detergents, soaps and deodorants.

The new 16,000-square-foot center will be located in one of 12 buildings on PMC Biogenixs 42-acre campus off Warford in North Memphis. It will be used to create new types of oleochemicals to replace petroleum-based materials in manufacturing. The company has been in Memphis for more than 50 years.

Bill Hayes, business manager of PMC Biogenix, says the new lab is being used to show customers how the companys products work and how they can be used.

The more we can pull petro-chemical derived feedstocks out, the better we think our position will be all around, environmentally and structurally for the U.S., Hayes says. Also, by providing applications testing as a service to customers, were convincing them what were looking at does what we say it does.

The companys products are typically derived from soybeans, palm or coconut oils and refined into fatty acids or glycerins that can be used as lubricants or friction reducers in the manufacturing of plastics.

He says as the green industry continues to grow, there will be more demand for companies that can process biochemicals that work and can replace petroleum-based chemicals. The company, which has 256 employees, is adding seven more employees to start the new center. Hayes says that number could expand as the center grows and begins to develop more oleochemicals.

Hayes says the companys manufacturing customers are starting to move away from petro-chemical derived products, which is resulting in new potential for PMC Biogenixs products, especially when it comes to personal hygiene products.

If youre trying to sell to someone at a personal product manufacturer and you have one made from vegetable oil and one from motor oil, theyre going to choose the vegetable oil, Hayes says. We think its a long-term trend. Fuel will continue from oil, but chemicals will come from natural resources.

Pete Nelson, director of the Agbioworks Program with Memphis Bioworks Foundation, says bio-industry experts are seeing the potential for two-thirds of the $1.5 trillion petroleum-derivative product industry being replaced in the next 20 years by plant products.

As more companies begin to look at different ways to refine natural products, Nelson says, those companies will be able to take advantage.

They represent a leader in the field of new chemistry that we expect other Memphis material companies to be engaged in more and more, Nelson says. They are a company that is very forward thinking in trying to capitalize on those markets.

Hayes says the companys exploration into new oleochemicals could also have an impact on the growing biodiesel industry, because the same basic raw materials are used in the processing phase.

Looking ahead, thats one thing we always have to understand, he says. The future of the biodiesel industry and oleochemicals are significantly intertwined because of raw materials, but at the core, we are a chemical company.

PMC Biogenix
Specialty manufacturer of chemicals and plastics
Business manager: Bill Hayes
Address: 1231 Pope
Employees: 256
Phone: (901) 325-4939
Web site: www.pmc-group.com





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