ANN ARBOR—Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB), the Ann Arbor-based developer of silk with some of the strength and flexibility of spiderweb fibers, announced that it had officially started commercial production scale-up of recombinant spider silk production at its Vietnamese subsidiary, Prodigy Textiles.
During a trip this week, Kraig COO Jon Rice successfully delivered the company’s specialized silkworm eggs to the production team at Prodigy Textiles’ recently renovated factory. This moment marks a pivotal milestone in the commercialization and production of eco-friendly and cost effective recombinant spider silk.
“The significance of today’s announcement can’t be overstated,” Rice said. “By clearing this critical production hurdle, we are now aggressively ramping up to produce and fill demand for our recombinant spider silk materials. Having demonstrated our materials’ performance capabilities and secured necessary approvals, we are now focused on the exciting next phase of our business model; delivering our high performance silk yarns to the market and formalizing strategic partnerships. Our dream of a sustainable and cost effective method to produce recombinant spider silk is now in operation.”
With capacity scale up now officially underway in Vietnam, the company is focused on the production of its recombinant spider silk threads and yarns for delivery to collaborative partners and target market segments.
The company has been working with senior officials in Vietnam for several years to secure the necessary permits and approvals needed to bring its revolutionary spider silk technology to production. The delivery of these progenitor silkworms into the company’s Vietnamese facility marks the success of that process and the beginning of a new era in performance textiles.
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Kraig has used genetic engineering techniques to splice spider genes into domesticated silkworms, so that the silk they produce to make their cocoons has some of the strength, flexibility and resiliency of spiderweb fibers. The company plans to turn those fibers into advanced textiles and fabrics, with applications ranging from apparel to blast protection. The company says that its spider silk has more tensile strength and energy-absorbing capacity than Kevlar and even steel.