US-based MonoSol LLC, a Kuraray company, which has offered water-soluble delivery systems since 1953, has broken ground for its new facility at the Duneland site in Portage’s Ameriplex at the Port. This new production facility will feed the growing global demand for all water-soluble film products, as MonoSol takes a large integration step as the core of the Kuraray WS Film Division. It will be constructed in three phases with the first phase scheduled to be operational in late 2016, generating an approximate 15% capacity increase over MonoSol’s current global production levels. The final phase will be complete by the end of 2020. When fully operational, the plant will create at least 150 new jobs. Hiring will commence mid-2015 for the 2016 opening. The Ross Group has been retained as the general contractor for the project.

“As a member of the global Kuraray team, we examined locations on multiple continents for this expansion,” said P. Scott Bening, CEO of MonoSol. “Portage, Indiana, was chosen over several European locations and other North American locations in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Our roots, natural resource availability, workforce confidence, relationships with service providers and the support from the State of Indiana and City of Portage tipped the scales,” said Bening. “This region is full of ‘can do’ individuals and we are proud to be a part of the community.”

MonoSol offers a wide range of water-soluble delivery systems for unit-dose applications for consumer, agricultural chemicals and industrial products, as well as additional films, solutions and compounds. MonoSol joined Kuraray, a global speciality chemical company, in mid-2012 and is now the cornerstone of the WS Film Division. Kuraray was established in 1926 and in 1950 became the first in the world to bring polyvinyl alcohol synthetic fibre to market. Since that milestone, Kuraray has used its proprietary technology in the area of polymer chemistry and synthetic chemistry to develop resins, chemicals, fibres, textiles and others.