JSR joins Lehigh in $8m expansion drive

ERJ staff report (PR)

Atlanta, Georgia – Sustainable materials company Lehigh Technologies, Inc. has secured an $8-million funding package, involving JSR Corp., to support its expansion plans in Europe and Asia.

Japanese group JSR participated in the financing round: joining existing investors Leaf Clean Energy; Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers; Index Ventures; and Florida Gulfshore Capital, LeHigh announced 3 Sept.

Lehigh has commercialised a micronised rubber powder (MRP) technology that can transform waste rubber materials into a speciality chemical that replaces oil-based materials.

The company claims to operate the world’s largest MRP production facility, which has 140 million pounds (64 kilotonnes) of annual capacity.

To date, Lehigh says its MRP has been used in the manufacture of over 250 million tires, and the company serves six of the world’s top ten tire manufacturers.

“This latest round of financing will give the company additional resources to drive growth in Europe and Asia, eventually culminating in local manufacturing. JSR, a highly regarded leader in polymer technology, will play a key role in this process,” said Dr. Alan Barton, CEO of Lehigh Technologies.

“JSR is continuously seeking opportunities to contribute to low carbon society through Materials Innovation”, said Koichi Kawasaki, executive managing officer at JSR Corp. “[Lehigh’s] novel MRP technology offers our customer base a new material that brings a strong value proposition and sustainability benefits.”

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