MARICOPA, AZ--(Marketwire - December 20, 2010) - Yulex Corporation, a manufacturer of renewable biomaterials derived from guayule, has partnered with Arizona Grain, Inc. to expand and manage its guayule agriculture program. This long-term commercial agreement will enable Yulex to cost-effectively and rapidly scale its agriculture program to meet the demand of major manufacturers of medical devices and consumer brands seeking high-performance sustainable materials such as Yulex® Natural Rubber.
Under the terms of the agreement, Yulex will supply its proprietary seed to Arizona Grain who will contract with its network of over 600 growers to produce guayule. Arizona Grain will oversee the growing cycle from field establishment through harvest and transportation of feedstock to the Yulex processing facility for the extraction of guayule natural rubber. While the initial focus of the program will be Arizona-based, the agreement allows for expansion into California and New Mexico.
"We are pleased to be associated with a local agriculture company that also has a strong global reach like Arizona Grain," said Yulex Corporation CEO Jeff Martin. "This partnership will accelerate the adoption of guayule as a vital industrial crop which can lessen America's reliance on imported natural rubber from Southeast Asia. Additionally, it will position Yulex as a key provider of cellulosic feedstocks to the emerging bioenergy industry as our agricultural residues can be combusted in biomass fired power plants to produce electrical power."
"The U.S. Southwest is a leader in sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. We are very pleased to partner with Yulex Corporation and play a pivotal role in advancing guayule as a new industrial crop and sustainable industry based here," said Arizona Grain President Eric Wilkey. "We are looking forward to working with growers and offering them the opportunity to participate in the commercialization of guayule as a viable and sustainable crop."
Arizona Grain's parent company also operates the only ethanol plant in Arizona, Pinal Energy LLC, which produces over 50 million gallons of grain-based ethanol annually. For more on Arizona Grain, visit http://www.arizonagrain.com.
ABOUT YULEX CORPORATION
Yulex Corporation is a renewable biomaterials company using novel clean technologies to produce biopolymers for sustainable consumer and industrial products as well as safer medical products. Yulex® natural rubber and emulsions are at the heart of a new sustainable enterprise taking root in the U.S. Southwest. The company's bio-based materials come from guayule (why-YOU-lee), a versatile and drought-tolerant plant native to the North American high desert that is attracting interest from Europe to Australia for its natural rubber content. Yulex emulsions, foams, binding agents, and resins cost-effectively out-perform synthetic petroleum-based materials, and the plant's leftover biomass can be combusted as a source of bioenergy. Yulex is made in the U.S.A. For more, visit http://www.yulex.com.
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