Editorial: Congratulations to Eastman on new joint venture

Thank you Eastman Chemical Co. for a new industry serving the entire North American market with a unique product, which has just begun operations in Kingsport along with another new business to manage its product shipping.It's a multimillion dollar investment creating new jobs with a strong growth potential.Eastman announced the deal two years ago, a joint venture with a Accsys Technologies headquartered in the United Kingdom, the world's leading supplier of premium, high performance and sustainable wood building materials.They would create a new company named Accoya USA LLC headquartered in Kingsport and owned 60% by Accoya and 40% by Eastman.It immediately created 300 jobs to build a $136 million facility on the Jared Drive side of Eastman's facilities as the first U.S. manufacturing site for Accoya's wood products.Accoya is the only producer of acetylated wood in the world with a proprietary technology that transforms fast-growing wood into building materials with characteristics that match or better those of man-made products.In May, the facility began "commissioning" where every operational component of a new plant is checked, inspected and tested, and production is now underway with 70 permanent jobs and more to come due to another international company new to Kingsport, Share Logistics, which will be the facility's global supply chain services provider.Share Logistics is a family-owned logistics company that offers a variety of services for moving cargo around the world with offices in Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, and alliances in Asia."This important international expansion is a huge milestone for Accsys and Accoya USA," said Dr. Jelena Arsic van Os, CEO of Accsys Technologies PLC. "We have created a supply proximity to our North American customers, allowing us to efficiently serve the largest and most attractive wood market in the world, with the most durable and stable wood products available in the marketplace.""With the growing trends for timber in construction and the increasing demand for wood products, we are excited by the opportunities for Accoya USA," said Brad Lich, executive VP and chief commercial officer of Eastman. "Accoya offers unrivaled performance in outdoor applications, providing sustainable and durable solutions that meet the evolving needs of consumers and builders alike.""We're so excited for customers to start receiving Accoya batches manufactured in Tennessee, which allows us to provide faster delivery and enhance reliability and service," said Rod Graf, general manager of Accoya USA. "The production team is well set to produce Accoya to the same high-performance standards the market is accustomed to."In effect, the plant produces pickled wood. Acetylated wood is a type of modified wood that's treated with acetic anhydride, a concentrated form of vinegar, to make it more durable and resistant to decay.The process involves replacing the wood's hydroxyl groups with acetyl groups, which makes the wood less likely to absorb water and more difficult for fungi and termites to digest.The market potential is strong, and suggests a strong future for Kingsport's industrial base.Accoya is the only producer of acetylated wood in the worldwith a proprietary technologythat transformsfast-growing wood into building materials with characteristics that match or better those of man-made products.