news
Clariant expands global masterbatch operations
Clariant has announced plans to invest nearly €7m to expand production of colour and additive masterbatches for use in engineering resins and high-temperature plastics, notably PEEK, at four sites in China, Singapore and the US. The company has also started construction of a new white masterbatch production unit in Saudi Arabia.
Clariant said the engineer-
ing resins investment includes specialised equipment and facilities that will lift capabili- ties at the four production sites to the standards of its three US operations already working with both engineering and high temperature (300°C+) materials. These produce masterbatches formulated using high temperature base materials and special pig- ments and additives that can stand up to extreme levels of heat and shear. Most of Clariant’s plants in
Asia have until now produced masterbatches for resins processed at moderate temperatures, such as ABS, polycarbonate and polyamide, with the higher temperature sector of the market supplied in part from outside the region. By the end of the year, the company said it will have new production capabilities in place in its Shanghai facility, covering the full range needed for engineering and high tempera- ture resins and addressing a demand for engineering materials that is growing at an estimated 7-8%/year. In the US, Clariant installed equipment for processing fluoropolymers in Lewiston, Maine, in late 2015. New lines for specialty engineering compounds and black masterbatch for high-temper- ature resins will be added at Holden, Massachusetts, beginning within Q1 of this year. All investments will be
UL-certified for flammability resistance, enabling the facilities to supply to makers of electrical products and appliances. The new masterbatch
facility in Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is being built at Yanbu Industrial Zone 2 by Clariant Masterbatches Saudi Arabia. This company is a joint venture between Clariant and Rowad National Plastic Company. Covering 38,000 m², the
facility is scheduled to be commissioned by early next year. It will make white masterbatches for the Saudi and wider regional plastics industries, complementing another in Riyadh. Yanbu was chosen for its ease of access to the nearby Red Sea port and airport facilities, as well to raw materials from the area’s hydrocarbon, petrochemical and mineral industries. ❙
www.clariant.com
Asahi Kasei opens up in Mexico
Asahi Kasei Chemicals has formally opened a Mexican subsidiary in the city of Querétaro.
Named Asahi Kasei
Plastics Mexico and owned through the Michigan-based US operation subsidiary Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, the new subsidiary will sell and offer technical support in performance plastic compounds, notably the company's Thermylene and Leona brands of PP and PA 6,6 respectively. It began operation in September 2015.
Asahi Kasei Chemicals
said it expects continued demand growth for plastic compounds in Mexico, where manufacturing facilities are increasingly being located especially by US, European and Japanese manufacturers in the automotive industry. ❙
http://akplastics.com
DuPont invests in European PPA capacity
Geneva-based DuPont Performance Materials is investing in production capacity for its Zytel brand of HTN PPA polymer at its Uentrop facility in Hamm, Germany. Construction has begun
DuPont is installing its first PPA production capacity in Europe 6 COMPOUNDING WORLD | March 2016
already on the new plant, which will begin production in the summer and will be the company’s first manufacturing capacity for PPA in Europe. It will supply Zytel HTN polymer
to users in the automotive, electrical and consumer electronics markets. The investment is the latest in a series of polyamide-relat- ed expansions by DuPont. The company increased Zytel HTN capacity at Richmond in Virginia in the US by 10% last year. It also recently an- nounced a 20% increase in Zytel PA 6,6 and PA 6 com- pound capacity at Uentrop. ❙
www.dupont.com
www.compoundingworld.com
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