Wood Group of Aberdeen has been awarded a $40 million engineering design contract by Kuraray to build a new sustainable packaging production plant in Singapore.

“Addressing the market shift towards more environmentally friendly food packaging materials, the new plant will produce EVAL, Kuraray’s ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer,” said Wood.

“EVAL is  widely used in food packaging to prevent oxygen from spoiling the contents and unlike other competing products is fully recyclable using traditional methods.

“Following the successful completion of a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study, Wood will deliver engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the new plant located on Jurong Island.

“In addition, Wood will carry out modifications to an existing poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) facility adjacent to the new plant, enabling Kuraray to streamline the production and recovery process of acetic acid, a critical component of the new EVAL plant.”

Giuseppe Zuccaro, President of Process & Chemicals at Wood, said: “Wood is committed to supporting the energy transition, and building a circular economy is a fundamental part of this process.

“This project will not only reduce food waste but increase the life of more sustainable plastics, ensuring materials are in use longer, reducing their environmental impact.

“We are delighted to be awarded the EPCM phase of this project. The expertise and dedication of the team has ensured the successful completion of the FEED study, giving us a solid foundation to seamlessly move through to execution.”

Tomoyuki Watanabe, Kuraray’s Director and Managing Executive Officer, President, Vinyl Acetate Resin Company and Vinyl Acetate Film Company, said: “EVAL is an important product for Kuraray showing strong growth triggered by increasing demand in emerging economies, increasing demand for food loss reduction, and increasing demand in the transition to a circular economy.

“Based on the successful FEED phase collaboration between Wood and Kuraray, we have decided to award Wood for their involvement in the EPC stage of the next expansion of global EVAL production capacity. Kuraray is confident this partnership will lead to a successful project execution.”

This contract will be delivered by Wood’s teams in Thailand and Singapore.