Cardia Bioplastics pioneers pen made from sustainable resin

Cardia Bioplastics Ltd is collaborating with a major international stationery company to develop a new pen manufactured from sustainable Cardia Biohybrid™ resin.

Wednesday 07 April 2010

This resin combines renewable thermoplastic with polyolefin materials to reduce the use of finite oil resources and reduce carbon footprint. Cardia has been working with the high profile Beifa Group in China - which is the country's largest stationery company - for several months to perfect the pen. The Beifa Group is a highly regarded international corporation, which has enjoyed vigorous growth in both sales and product manufacture to become China’s largest exporter of writing instruments and stationery.  The Beifa Group has a total export volume of over USD100 million and serves clients in more than 100 countries with offices in Russia, the United States, Panama, UAE and Spain. It is also a recognised brand in Africa and Central Europe. Customers include Wal-Mart, Staples, Office Depot, National Pen, Myron and Metro, and it was the 2008 Beijing Olympic Office Suppliers Exclusive Supplier. 

The Beifa Group and Cardia Bioplastics technical teams jointly developed this demanding injection moulding application with focus on making no change to the established injection moulding process, moulding efficiency, or to the performance of the pen. Final product development is complete for the new Cardia Biohybrid™ resin pen design and market trials have been successful.  Beifa Group is ordering commercial quantities and Cardia expects an annualised supply agreement to be completed by the end of April, or early May this year.  

Cardia Chairman Mr Pat Volpe said the new product embraced the business community's ongoing commitment to sustainability. "Working together with Beifa, a market leader in China in writing instruments, further demonstrates the global shift by companies and customers and Governments wanting a renewable and sustainable solution to using less oil in our most basic day to day products, such as a pen,” said Mr Volpe. "This is the way the world wants to go.” 

Cardia Bioplastics is in confidential joint development agreements with several major companies globally and has a portfolio of day to day and consumable brand name products and packaging items being redeveloped with these companies into Biohybrids. These corporations want to offer packaging and plastic products that contain more renewable and sustainable content, rather than relying on oil and petrochemical base products.