- Commercial-scale production starts Summer 2015 in Caserta, Italy.
- The plant will scale-up to 8,000 MT/yr by 2017.
- New management team includes Marcel van Berkel, Davide Gremmi, and Marcello Taglietti.
- Rudy Parton and Aris de Rijke lead R&D.
Commercial Production Launch
GFBiochemicals is set to begin commercial-scale production of levulinic acid in Summer 2015 at its Caserta, Italy plant. The company has developed proprietary technology for this biobased chemical, which has been tested at demo-scale since 2008.
Management Team
A new management team has been appointed to drive the company's commercialization efforts. Marcel van Berkel, with over 25 years of experience at Solvay and DSM, is the Chief Commercial Officer. Davide Gremmi, with over 20 years of finance experience, most recently at Chemtex Group, is the Chief Financial Officer. Marcello Taglietti, who has over 20 years of experience including roles at Air Products and Ashland, is the Chief Operating Officer.
Research and Development
Rudy Parton and Aris de Rijke will lead the R&D efforts as Director of Technology & Applications Development and Director of Technology & Engineering, respectively. Both bring over 25 years of experience from DSM and Shell.
Production Scale-Up
The Caserta plant is expected to scale up its production capacity to 8,000 MT per year by 2017, marking a significant step in the commercialization of biobased levulinic acid.
