70 | Feature: Accoya USA
◄ potential to develop the Accoya business further in Europe, where Accsys’ original and recently expanded plant in Arnhem can now concentrate its resources.
The US$136m new facility in the US is a 60/40 partnership with Eastman Chemical Company. The two have a pre-existing relationship. Eastman is one of Accsys Arnhem’s long-term suppliers of acetic anhydride (Ac2O) the core ingredient for the acetylation process used to manufacture Accoya and it makes the chemical at its Kingsport headquarters site, hence the location for the new Accsys plant. “It’s the ideal synergistic relationship,” said Dr Arsic van Os. “For Accsys, having this proximity to a key raw material, gives us great security of supply, which is very important for us. For Eastman it provides a valuable off take for one of their big product ranges locally. The by-product of our acetylation process is acetic acid, which at our new Kingsport facility, can go straight back to Eastman to be recycled back into acetic anhydride. It’s a sustainable loop. So, from all sides it absolutely made sense to form the joint venture.”
Discussions between the partners have been on-going for a while, but it was in 2022 that the new plant got the green light. The facility is modelled on the Arnhem site and has two acetylation reactors giving it an initial capacity of 43,000m3
of Accoya per year.
“Following our recent expansion at Arnhem, our Dutch site can produce 80,000m3 annually. Combine that with Kingsport’s production and our output will be double what it was two years ago,” said Dr Arsic van Os.
Moreover, she added, there is scope to expand the Kingsport site to an eventual capacity of 170,000m3
. Accsys is clearly confident the appetite for
Accoya in North America is there. “It’s important to stress that we are not starting in the market from scratch,” said Dr Arsic van Os. “We have an established distribution network and customer base, which has been taking around 20% of our output from Arnhem. We also have a very capable management and commercial team taking care of sales and supply locally. So, we have the basis from which to grow, and we see major potential in the market. In fact, market research suggests that the addressable market in North America is 8.6 million m3
.
Top: Pictured at the official opening of the new Tennessee plant, from left: Steve Crawford, executive vice-president, manufacturing and chief sustainability officer, Eastman; Jelena Arsic van Os, CEO Accsys; Paul Mitchell, director business development, Eastman; Rod Graf, general manager Accoya USA; Mark Bogle, VP global operations excellence, Eastman
Centre: Accoya used in the facade of the SILT building, a coastal hotel and casino in Middelkerke, Belgium PHOTO: STEFAN STEENKISTE
Above: Accoya slats form the north facade of the Villa M in Germany TTJ | November/December 2024 |
www.ttjonline.com
Currently we have less than 1% of that, so the opportunity is huge. North America is one of the largest, and from our perspective, most attractive wood products markets in the world.”
The indicators also point to that market potential growing further, she maintained. “The forecasts are for increased construction and infrastructure development in the US, and we are seeing key trends in
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 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89
