NEWS Ascend to end compounding in NL
US-headquartered PA66 specialist Ascend Performance Materials is to close its compounding site at Tilburg in the Netherlands in April of this year. Production will be transferred to its existing production location at Mozzzate in Italy. The company acquired the Tilburg site in 2018 through the purchase of Britannia Techno Polymer, which had been a long-standing Ascend tolling
partner. The site became its first wholly-owned compounding plant outside of the US. The Mozzate site was acquired in 2020 and was formerly the Poliblend and Esseti Plast businesses. According to Ascend, the facility benefits from state-of-the-art compounding lines, a recycling R&D centre, and in-house masterbatch production.
Ascend is also ending industrial
fibre production at Greenwood in US. “The teams in Tilburg and Green- wood have worked safely and diligently in the face of ongoing and unprecedented economic challenges for nearly two years,” said Phil McDiv- itt, Ascend President and CEO. “We made these difficult, but necessary decisions to better serve our customers long-term.” �
www.ascendmaterials.com
Kafrit buys Canada’s ABSA Resin
IMAGE: GABRIEL-CHEMIE Above: Construction is underway at Gabriel-Chemie’s plant at at Nyíregyháza
Gabriel-Chemie announces €6m expansion in Hungary
Austrian masterbatch producer Gabriel-Chemie broke ground on a 2,200m2 expansion of its plant at Nyíregyháza in Hungary last month. The €6m investment
project, which is expected to complete before the end of 2024, will double its
production area and provide space for additional extrusion lines. It also includes 800m2
of new
office space. The company has manufactured masterbatches in Hungary since 2003. “We believe this investment is a strong
statement of commitment, not only to increase the capacity of our Hungarian plant but also to provide the foundation for future growth of the Gabriel-Chemie Group,“ said Andreas Berger, Chief Financial Operating Officer at the company. �
www.gabriel-chemie.com
Israel-headquartered Kafrit has acquired ABSA Resin Technologies, a Canadian producer of engineered filled and reinforced compounds including recycled grades. According to Kafrit,
Cambridge, Ontario-based ABSA specialises in small to medium-sized custom and toll compounding on short deliver leadtimes. The company describes the move as a strategic acquisition that marks its entry into new areas of activity and that strengthens its presence in the North American market. �
www.kafritgroup.com
Birla Carbon adds more capacity in Asia
Specialist carbon black producer Birla Carbon is to boost its position in the southern Asia region with the construction of new production operations at Naidupet in Andhra Pradesh, India, and at
www.compoundingworld.com
Rayong in Thailand. Each of the two new facilities will have an initial annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes when they become operational in 2025. Birla says the investment will support planned expansion
to 240,000 tonnes in the future. They come as the company is progressing with expansions at its locations at Patalganga in India and Hungary. “We are excited to augment our expansion
plans in support of key customers in the fast-grow- ing markets of India and Southeast Asia,” said John Loudermilk, President and Chief Executive Officer, Birla Carbon. �
www.birlacarbon.com
January/February 2024 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70
