US colour and additive specialist Penn Color (Doylestown, Pennsylvania; www.penncolor.com) in late May announced that it had opened a new masterbatch manufacturing facility in Venray / The Netherlands. The site’s exact masterbatch production capacity was not specified, although the US group did say the new lines are located in one of its water-based ink and coating products manufacturing site, which was expanded by more than 21,000 m² to make room for the manufacture of thermoplastic colour materbatches.

Penn Color said the output was primarily earmarked for packaging, household, personal care and medical applications. The newly expanded plant also boasts a colour matching laboratory that also offers technical support to European customers.

The US manufacturer emphasised the new building’s “green” design, explaining that “heat generated during the extrusion process is being used to heat both the new and existing buildings”, allowing for natural gas savings of up to 550,000 m³.