Mars Wrigley partners with Danimer Scientific to develop biodegradable packaging for its products

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INNOVATION

A Sweet Solution

Mars Wrigley is the latest company to partner with Danimer Scientific to develop biodegradable packaging for its products.

Danimer also has worked with Pepsi, Nestle and Bacardi to produce environmentally friendly packaging with its signature Nodax polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). The company produces PHA via a natural fermentation process using plant oils such as soy and canola.

With the two-year partnership agreement, Danimer Scientific will work with Mars Wrigley to create home compostable packaging for its products. Skittles will be the first brand to carry the packaging.

“PHA is also marine degradable,” says Stephen Croskrey, Jacksonville-based CEO for Danimer Scientific. “So it will go away in those composting environments, but it will also go away in soil; it will go away in freshwater; and it will go away in, of course, the environment.”

EDUCATION

• The University of North Florida has added two engineering degree programs. The bachelor of science in advanced manufacturing and master of science in materials science and engineering will begin accepting students this fall.

FINANCE

• T. Rowe Price has outsourced the management of technology development and core operations for its retirement record-keeping business to Jacksonville-based FIS.

GOVERNMENT

• The U.S. Postal Service plans to move mail processing from Gainesville to Jacksonville in November as part of a 10-year plan designed to boost cash flow and savings.

HEALTH CARE

• Flagler Health+ has broken ground on a health care village in Palm Coast. Flagler Health+ is also under contract to purchase 71 acres near Palm Coast Parkway for a new in-patient hospital.
• AdventHealth and DispatchHealth have formed a partnership to expand services for at-home health care into Ocala.
• Jacksonville-based Brooks Rehabilitation will increase its presence in Orlando over the next three years by opening 15 facilities by 2023.

HOSPITALITY

• Hyatt Place plans to open its first Gainesville hotel next spring.

MANUFACTURING

• Jacksonville-based contact lens manufacturer Johnson & Johnson Vision has signed a deal with JEA to be entirely solar powered by 2022. Johnson & Johnson has a goal to source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025 and achieve carbon neutrality across all operations by 2030.
• Alachua-based Ology Bioservices has been acquired by San Diego-based biomanufacturing company Resilience. Ology develops and manufactures drugs and biologics for commercial customers and the U.S. government.

NON-PROFITS

• Marion Senior Services has created a human services department to offer crisis intervention and mental health assistance to the elderly in addition to investigating complaints of elder abuse and inadequate care.

REAL ESTATE

• Colorado-based home builders Century Complete will enter the North Florida market this year by opening six communities across the panhandle and in the Jacksonville area. Single-family home communities will be in Welaka, Freeport, DeFuniak Springs, Jacksonville and Callahan.
• CT Realty and Diamond Realty Investments plan to partner on a 3.2 million-sq.-ft. logistics park in northwest Jacksonville. The partners are planning a 250-acre, eight-building facility. Home construction in Gainesville’s first “agrihood” is expected to begin in December. The Flint Rock subdivision will include 96 lots and focus on farm-to-table eating by incorporating community gardens and an orchard with 2,000 fruit trees. The community will also have a 151- acre conservation area donated by Alachua Conservation Trust and a nature trail.

RETAIL

• Brookfield Properties, the owner of the Oaks Mall in Gainesville, has created a Partner to Empower program to boost the number of minority-owned businesses. In addition to funding, the program will provide minority business owners with training and guidance to help them meet their goals.

SPORTS BUSINESS

• The PGA Tour has asked for $16.78 million in incentives from St. Johns County to move its broadcast media operations to tour-owned property on Palm Valley Road in Ponte Vedra Beach next to its global headquarters. The PGA Tour says the project will create 45 jobs by 2035 with an average wage of $79,442.

TECHNOLOGY

• Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, a global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, plans to move its headquarters from New Jersey to Jacksonville, bringing 500 jobs to the area over the next five years.
• Genpact, a New York-headquartered data and technology firm, plans to close its Jacksonville location and lay off its 489 employees.

TRANSPORTATION

• One of Jacksonville’s largest stevedoring companies, Portus Services, is laying off 138 workers at JaxPort’s Blount Island terminal after losing a contract.
• Mediterranean Shipping has shifted service from Savannah to JaxPort on Canada Gulf Bridge Service, a route that carries cargo from Progreso, Mexico, and Freeport, Bahamas, to Corner Brook Port in Newfoundland, Canada, and other Canadian ports. The new stop will add $700,000 in annual revenue for JaxPort.
• CSX is acquiring Tampa-based Quality Carriers, the largest chemical trucking company in North America.

Read more in Florida Trend's August issue.
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Tags: Northeast, Environment, Technology/Innovation, Feature