Origin Materials and Reed City Group Announce North American Mass Production Partnership for PET Caps and Closures

August 08, 2024 at 07:00 AM EDT

Origin’s cap production lines, the first of which is expected to come online during Q4 2024, are engineered to mass produce caps and closures made with unmodified virgin PET or 100% recycled PET plastic

Origin’s caps enhance recycling circularity, enabling "mono-material” containers, lighter packaging, and improved product shelf life

Origin Materials (“Origin”) (NASDAQ: ORGN, ORGNW), a technology company with a mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials, and Reed City Group, a full-scale injection mold builder, injection molder, hydraulic press maker, and automation solutions company, announced a strategic partnership to mass produce PET caps and closures in North America.

In Reed City Group’s Michigan facilities, the companies will operate Origin PET cap and closure commercial manufacturing lines. The lines will convert virgin and recycled PET into caps using high-speed equipment and automation. Origin’s caps are positioned to be the first commercially viable PET closures to reach the mass market.

“Together with Reed City Group we expect to begin mass production of PET caps for the North American region later this year,” said Origin Co-CEO and Co-Founder John Bissell. “We look forward to partnering with the Reed City Group team of over 200 people including skilled machinists, mechanical engineers, and operations professionals, with impressive capabilities in tool making and clean room manufacturing.”

Bissell added: “Our Reed City Group partnership enables a geographic expansion complementary to our previously announced mass production capability based in Europe. We are thrilled to announce this new member of our PET cap manufacturing ecosystem.”

Reed City Group’s CEO, Guy Boitos commented, “Our company has a long-standing commitment to innovation and bringing our two companies together to fulfil the market needs of sustainable products is a natural fit. We are eager to partner with Origin for this transformative project for years to come.”

Origin’s PET caps and closures are a transformative leap forward in packaging, improving recyclability including through cap tethering, enabling light-weighting, and extending product shelf-life while addressing a greater than $65 billion market. In conjunction with world-class partners like Reed City Group, we are solving the most difficult sustainability challenges, in alignment with our core mission to help transition the world to sustainable materials.

Origin’s PCO 1881-compatible caps, which can be made with virgin or recycled PET, will be available beginning in Q4 2024, with PCO 1881-compatible tethered caps and other cap types to follow afterward. To learn more about Origin’s PET caps and closures, visit our website or contact commercialorder@originmaterials.com.

About Origin Materials

Origin is a technology company with a mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials. Our innovations include PET caps and closures that bring recycling circularity and enhanced performance to a ~$65 billion market, specialty materials, and our patented biomass conversion platform that transforms carbon into sustainable materials for a wide range of end products addressing a ~$1 trillion market. Origin’s technology, economics, and carbon impact are supported by a growing list of major global customers and investors. For more information, visit www.originmaterials.com.

About Reed City Group

Reed City Group is a full-scale mold builder, hydraulic press maker, automation systems provider, and plastic injection molding company based in Reed City, Michigan, known for high-quality manufacturing capabilities across several industries. From leveraging state-of-the-art clean rooms facilities in the bio-pharmaceutical industry to automating garage door manufacturing processes, Reed City Group’s reputation is built on core skilled trades. With values of integrity, attention to detail, and customer service, these attributes are evident in all products and services offered. Reed City Group is a portfolio company of Argosy Private Equity (PA, USA) and Stone River Capital Partners (MI, USA). For further information, please visit www.reedcitygroup.com, www.argosycapital.com, www.stonerivercap.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Origin Materials’ business strategy, performance and sustainability improvements associated with Origin’s PET caps and closures and specialty materials, when Origin’s PCO 1881-compatible caps and other cap formats and features, including tethers, will be available, estimated total addressable market and how much of that market Origin’s PET caps and closures will address. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the management of Origin Materials and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Origin Materials. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including that Origin Materials may be unable to successfully commercialize its products; the effects of competition on Origin Materials’ business; the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to Origin; disruptions and other impacts to Origin’s business as a result of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, the impact of severe weather events, and other global health or economic crises; changes in customer demand; and those factors discussed in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 14, 2024 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Origin Materials has filed, or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Origin Materials presently does not know, or that Origin Materials currently believes are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Origin Materials’ expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Origin Materials anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while Origin Materials may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Origin Materials specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Origin Materials’ assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.