BioAmber Reports Record Fourth Quarter.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

BioAmber, a Montreal-based company with a manufacturing site in Sarnia, reported a record quarter at the end of 2017 with revenue of $5.4 million.

Revenue in 2017 totalled $14.9 million compared to $8.3 million in 2016, an 81-per-cent increase, driven by increased sales of bio-succinic acid from the Sarnia plant opened in 2015, the company said this week.

BioAmber uses corn syrup to make succinic acid, a building block chemical used in products ranging from paints and plastics to cosmetics and food additives at its first large-scale commercial production site next to Vidal Street in Sarnia.

“We are pleased with the solid growth, which is reflective of our growing customer base and the potential of bio-succinic acid as an important chemical building block,” CEO Rick Eno said Wednesday during a quarterly earnings conference call.

“The entire company is working to move our operations to be gross margin positive at the plant level, followed by profitability at the corporate level,” Eno said.

“We believe this performance will unlock growth opportunities for us, including a second plant that will convert bio-succinic acid into butanediol and THF (tetrahydrofuran), which reflect an $8-billion market.”

The company said in late 2017 it was focusing on Sarnia as the potential site for a second plan.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Zach Neal.

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Sarnia-Born Professor Wins Prestigious International Award.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

A Sarnia-born professor and researcher recently became the first woman and first person from outside of Europe to win the Recipharm International Environmental Award.

Karen Kidd, a professor at McMaster University, was named the 2017 recipient of the award given annually since 2008 by Recipharm, a Swedish pharmaceutical company.

“It has been given to a number of very high-impact researchers that I know quite well, and respect their work quite a bit,” Kidd said.

“So, it was a real honour.”

Kidd said it is the first major award of her career.

“Her work, which explores the potential effects and risks of contaminants on fish and whole ecosystems, is truly impressive,” Lars Backsell, chairperson of Recipharm’s board, said in a news release.

“This research will no doubt be essential in building commitment toward environmental matters and provides valuable guidance for future actions in order to decrease or avoid the negatives impacts of chemical contamination.”

Kidd is scheduled to travel to Stockholm in September to receive the award.

“I’ve had a fantastic group of collaborators, and I’m accepting the award on their behalf, as well,” she said.

“The science that we’ve done has been a big group effort, over many years.”

Link to the rest here.

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Lieutenant-Governor Of Newfoundland and Labrador Has Fond Memories of Sarnia.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

Judy Foote carried home a treasured connection to Sarnia when she returned to Newfoundland after graduating from Lambton College.

Foote, a former politician and cabinet minister, has been named the next lieutenant-governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.

But back in the late 1970s, she was a Memorial University graduate interested in pursuing a career in journalism after working for a public affairs program with the CBC in Newfoundland.

Foote went looking for place she could take formal training and her electrician husband could also find work.

That ended up being Sarnia where they lived for two years while she completed a journalism and broadcasting program at Lambton College.

“I had two children when I moved to Sarnia and, when I finished my diploma program, I had three,” she said.

Her daughter Heidi was born in Sarnia while Foote was still in school.

Now 38, Foote’s youngest child works with a law firm in Newfoundland.

“I keep telling her, ‘your hometown is Sarnia,’” Foote said.

“Thing happen and we have very fond memories of Sarnia.”

Foote said they enjoyed the community and came to know others in Sarnia who had moved from Newfoundland.

“It’s a lovely, lovely place.”

Link to the rest here.

Image. Michael Ignatieff.

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