#Yarn & Fiber

2023-11-30

NatureWorks appoints Erik Ripple new President and CEO

Today NatureWorks, a leading manufacturer of polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymers made from renewable resources, announced the appointment of Erik Ripple as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer. Ripple will succeed interim President and CEO, Jill Zullo, who has served in the role since March 2023 when former CEO, Rich Altice, retired from NatureWorks. Ripple comes to NatureWorks from Nexeon, Ltd. in the United Kingdom, a manufacturer of silicon carbide composites for electric vehicle batteries. As Chief Strategy Officer, he led the commercial, engineering, and program teams enabling the launch of their first commercial product to battery manufacturers.

Ripple joins NatureWorks as it continues market-leading growth and innovation with construction of new 75kta Ingeo biopolymer manufacturing facility underway in Thailand

Prior to that position, Ripple was the Chief Growth and Innovation Officer with Ingevity. In this role, he successfully positioned Ingevity to accelerate their latent innovation efforts and designed several acquisition pathways for Ingevity to execute. Ripple was previously the President of Asia Pacific, and the Senior Vice President for Performance Materials (PM) while living in Shanghai, China.??Before joining Ingevity in 2010, Ripple spent 18 years with Eastman Chemical Company where he served in leadership roles in innovation, business management, and corporate development including holding regional responsibilities in Europe.

Ripple received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University.

“We are pleased to welcome Erik as the new CEO of NatureWorks. Erik has a strong track record of global business leadership, building innovative teams, and driving growth in new markets,” said Narongsak Jivakanun, NatureWorks Board Chair, PTTGC. “As NatureWorks continues to drive the global adoption of sustainable, performance biomaterials, we are confident that Erik’s strategic capabilities will further build upon the company’s strong foundation.

“We also extend our full gratitude to Jill Zullo for her exceptional leadership over the past eight months to the NatureWorks team. Her input and guidance through this transition leave NatureWorks well positioned for continued success.”

“As parent companies, Cargill and GC continue to see an exciting future for the NatureWorks business. The global need for sustainable materials and technologies that will help mitigate climate change remains unabated,” continued Colleen May, NatureWorks Board Member and President of Cargill Bioindustrial. “We believe that Erik’s leadership will accelerate the innovation NatureWorks is known for alongside long-term growth across evolving global markets.”

“I am delighted to have been appointed to lead NatureWorks. It is a company that has been at the forefront of the low carbon, biomaterials industry for over 20 years fueled by a deeply committed, talented team and with an exciting global expansion underway in Thailand,” shared Erik Ripple, President & CEO, NatureWorks. “I’m looking forward to bringing together my background in developing nimble, creative teams and partnerships with the culture of innovation that has underscored NatureWorks’ growth and ambition in the biomaterials industry.”

Ripple joins NatureWorks as it recently announced the next phase of construction on the new fully integrated Ingeo™ PLA manufacturing facility in Thailand. The new 75kta facility is on track to complete construction with production anticipated in 2025.

NatureWorks welcomes new CGO and CFO as company enters new growth phase

Roger Tambay, Chief Growth Officer, and Roger Kempa, Chief Financial Officer, join NatureWorks as the company prepares to open their new fully integrated Ingeo™? PLA manufacturing facility in Thailand becoming the first PLA biopolymer producer to expand globally with a second manufacturing facility.

NatureWorks’ Ingeo PLA manufacturing expansion attracts Rrecord financing from Krungthai Bank PCL of Thailand

NatureWorks, a leading manufacturer of polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymers made from renewable resources, today announced the historic financial support from Krungthai Bank PCL to optimize the capital structure for the new fully-integrated Ingeo™? PLA manufacturing facility in Thailand. The financing from Krungthai Bank, Thailand’s third largest bank, amounting to $350M USD (12,600M Baht Equivalent), is one of the singular largest loans in the bank’s decades-long history and shows confidence in NatureWorks’ market leadership and global economic impact. Today, the companies participated in a signing ceremony to celebrate this milestone.

Sorona® and WGSN announce top bio-based material trends of 2027

Sorona®, the partially bio-based polymer from Covation Biomaterials (CovationBio™), and global trend forecasting authority WGSN today release the material trends shaping the textile industry through 2027 and beyond following a comprehensive examination of bio-based functional fiber applications and global data.

Yarn Expo Shenzhen 2026 closes doors, advancing sustainable and innovative sourcing in South China

Yarn Expo Shenzhen 2026 served as a strategically positioned mid-year sourcing platform for the Greater Bay Area, highlighting Shenzhen’s role in connecting regional demand, supply and innovation exchange across the textile value chain. During the three-day fair, over 20,000 visits were drawn from 74 countries and regions[1], as exhibitors and buyers engaged with new developments in greener, performance-led, and value-added yarn and fibre solutions. Held in conjunction with Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics and PH Value, the fair underscored the benefits of closer synergy and new materials across yarn, fabric and apparel platforms for the South China market.

Networking Day 2026: Industry stakeholders unite around textile recycling

In 2026, the Industry Research Group (IRG) Polymer Recycling once again brought together some of the key stakeholders in textile recycling for its annual Networking Day. This year, the event took place at EREMA’s premises in Ansfelden, Austria. It brought together key players from across the textile recycling value chain for a day of structured exchange and in-depth discussions.

The new RDJ 7/3 defines the design footprint of modern athletic shoes

Stylish, functional, and efficient to produce – spacer fabrics are the all-arounders among textile materials. These versatile fabrics are particularly in demand in the sports and casual footwear sector, as they combine comfort, breathability, and design freedom. At the same time, this industry is trend-driven, dynamic, and price-sensitive like few others. Innovations are therefore a decisive factor for success. With the RDJ 7/3, KARL MAYER offers a solution specifically tailored to these requirements. The particular strength of the new double raschel machine: its exceptional flexibility, thanks to its three jacquard bars.

Smart textiles reversibly change shape in an energy-efficient manner in response to ambient temperature

Self-actuating textile structures are used in a wide range of applications, such as medical technology, automation, architecture, agriculture, and the apparel industry. An example is the use of shading nets in greenhouses, which can be deployed and retracted depending on the sunlight intensity. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) are developing textiles based on shape-memory polymers with reversibly controllable geometry.