LANXESS / DUPONT
Expansion of engineering plastics compounding output / German group also to compound in US
Lanxess (Leverkusen / Germany; www.lanxess.com) and DuPont (HQ: Wilmington, Delaware / USA; www.dupont.com) plan to spend EUR 10m to double compounding capacity for polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) produced by their 50:50 joint venture DuBay Polymer (Hamm-Uentrop / Germany) at the jv’s German headquarters. Start-up is scheduled for early 2012. Separately, Lanxess has broken ground on its first US compounding facility for engineering polymers, which also will cost EUR 10m and start up in 2012.
The two chemicals and plastics groups say they are responding to increasing global demand for PBT compounds, driven by new applications in the international automotive and E&E sectors. At the Hamm-Uentrop plant, which Lanxess and DuPont say is “one of the largest of its kind in the world,” compounding began in 2004 with output of 80,000 t/y. Some EUR 10m was spent on expanding production by an undisclosed margin in 2007 – see Plasteurope.com of 03.07.2007. No figure has been given for the current expansion. Finished product is drawn off and marketed separately by the partners.
The new Lanxess compounding facility at Gastonia, North Carolina, will be its first in the US. It will be capable of turning out 20,000 t/y of PA and PBT, mostly for sale to the automotive industry to enable production of lighter vehicles. Managing board member Werner Breuers pointed out that the US is driving development of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fuel efficiency standards.
In response to an estimated 7% growth in global demand for high tech plastics, especially from the automotive industry, Lanxess is investing heavily in expanding its compounding activities. In January of this year, it broke ground on a new 20,000 t/y facility at Jhagadia / India, costing more than EUR 10m and set for start-up in early 2012 – see Plasteurope.com of 17.01.2011. The German group is spending an additional EUR 10m to increase compounding capacity at Wuxi / China to 60,000 t/y by mid-2011 – see Plasteurope.com of 21.04.2010. Production of PA feedstock caprolactam at Antwerp / Belgium is currently being widened by 10% to 220,000 t/y at a cost of EUR 35m – see Plasteurope.com of 18.03.2010.
The two chemicals and plastics groups say they are responding to increasing global demand for PBT compounds, driven by new applications in the international automotive and E&E sectors. At the Hamm-Uentrop plant, which Lanxess and DuPont say is “one of the largest of its kind in the world,” compounding began in 2004 with output of 80,000 t/y. Some EUR 10m was spent on expanding production by an undisclosed margin in 2007 – see Plasteurope.com of 03.07.2007. No figure has been given for the current expansion. Finished product is drawn off and marketed separately by the partners.
The new Lanxess compounding facility at Gastonia, North Carolina, will be its first in the US. It will be capable of turning out 20,000 t/y of PA and PBT, mostly for sale to the automotive industry to enable production of lighter vehicles. Managing board member Werner Breuers pointed out that the US is driving development of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fuel efficiency standards.
In response to an estimated 7% growth in global demand for high tech plastics, especially from the automotive industry, Lanxess is investing heavily in expanding its compounding activities. In January of this year, it broke ground on a new 20,000 t/y facility at Jhagadia / India, costing more than EUR 10m and set for start-up in early 2012 – see Plasteurope.com of 17.01.2011. The German group is spending an additional EUR 10m to increase compounding capacity at Wuxi / China to 60,000 t/y by mid-2011 – see Plasteurope.com of 21.04.2010. Production of PA feedstock caprolactam at Antwerp / Belgium is currently being widened by 10% to 220,000 t/y at a cost of EUR 35m – see Plasteurope.com of 18.03.2010.
11.03.2011 Plasteurope.com [218830-0]
Published on 11.03.2011
German version of this article...