ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. and GREEN ISLAND, N.Y., Wednesday, June 20, 2012 – Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE) and Ecovative Design LLC completed an agreement to accelerate the production, sales and distribution of Ecovative’s EcoCradle® Mushroom® Packaging, a new technology for environmentally responsible packaging materials made from agricultural byproducts and mycelium, or “mushroom roots”.
As part of the agreement, Sealed Air will be the exclusive licensee of Ecovative’s mycelium based material technology in North America for protective packaging applications. Since January, Sealed Air and Ecovative have been developing together plans for sales and marketing as well as the augmentation of production capabilities. Sealed Air plans to begin offering the new products immediately. "We have been pleased with our relationship with Sealed Air and have seen how their sales network, strong packaging design capabilities, and world-class supply chain will help us further our vision and broaden our impact, providing an innovative and effective alternative to petrochemical based packaging at a much larger scale," said Eben Bayer, CEO of Ecovative. “We are excited to be the exclusive provider of Ecovative’s technology for protective packaging applications. The Ecovative Design team has created a fundamental material technology, using the unique properties of mycelium, to provide solutions to protective packaging. And we have seen their success in manipulating these materials’ properties to produce varying density, strength, texture, and appearance to meet different performance needs of a variety of customer applications,” said Ryan Flanagan, President of Sealed Air’s Protective Packaging business. “The agreement also furthers our SmartLife™ commitment to sustainability and providing solutions that reduce waste throughout the supply chain. This technology turns an agricultural waste material into a packaging solution that meets our customers' performance needs and protects against their products being damage during shipping. Furthermore, it broadens our product portfolio for molded shapes and potentially other applications,” Flanagan added. Sealed Air’s Protective Packaging business delivers an extensive portfolio of protective, industrial and display packaging systems to meet diverse application requirements across a broad range of industries. Sealed Air operates Packaging Design Centers globally and delivers a compelling value proposition that comes from a total solution approach that positively benefits multiple areas of customer operations – ultimately driving efficiencies and business value from the plant floor to their customers’ doorsteps. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Sealed Air does not expect the transaction to be material to its consolidated financial position or results of operations.About Sealed Air Sealed Air is a global leader in food safety and security, facility hygiene and product protection. With widely recognized and inventive brands such as Bubble Wrap® brand cushioning, Cryovac® brand food packaging solutions and DiverseyTM brand cleaning and hygiene solutions, Sealed Air offers efficient and sustainable solutions that create business value for customers, enhance the quality of life for consumers and provide a cleaner and healthier environment for future generations. On a pro forma basis, Sealed Air generated revenue of $8.1 billion in 2011, and has approximately 26,300 employees who serve customers in 175 countries. To learn more, visit www.sealedair.com. About Ecovative Founded in 2007, Ecovative is a materials science company developing a new class of home-compostable bioplastics based on mycelium, an organism akin to a living polymer. Ecovative’s high-performance products serve as environmentally responsible alternatives to traditional foam packaging, insulation, and other plastic-based materials. Ecovative was incubated at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Rensselaer, together with 3M Company and the DOEN Foundation, are significant investors in Ecovative. Ecovative has been recognized with numerous international awards for sustainability and “green” technologies, and was named a Tech Pioneer at the 2011 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ecovative’s growth has been fueled by grants, prizes, and support from key partners including the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. For more information, visit www.ecovativedesign.com,www.mushroompackaging.com, and follow @ecovative on Twitter. Forward-Looking Statements Company statements in this press release may be forward-looking. These statements include comments as to future events that may affect the Company, which are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the Company's control. Forward-looking statements can be identified by such words as "anticipates," "expects," "will" and similar expressions. A variety of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from these expectations, including: economic conditions affecting packaging utilization; changes in raw material costs; currency translation effects; and legal proceedings. For more extensive information, see "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements," which appear in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as may be revised and updated by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.
