With a view towards manufacturing and commercialising carbon fibre and derivatives on a global scale, Dow (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com) subsidiary Dow Europe (Horgen / Switzerland; www.dow.com) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Turkey’s Aksa Akrilik Kimya (Istanbul; www.aksa.com) for the formation of a joint venture. The MoU foresees a cooperation between the two players to create integrated carbon fibre production facilities.

Commenting on the cooperation, Heinz Haller, Dow executive vice president and CCO, said: “By partnering together, Aksa and Dow will create the carbon fibre composites industry’s only large scale, full-service, fully integrated solution provider serving the growing needs of the world’s leading industries.”

Aksa claims to be the world’s largest acrylic fibre producer, with an annual capacity of 308,000 t/y and a reported 13% share of the global market. The Turkish manufacturer has already made inroads in the carbon fibre business, kicking off production at its 1,500 t/y facility in Yalova / Turkey last year – see Plasteurope.com of 09.09.2010. By comparison, global carbon fibre market leader Toray Industries (Tokyo / Japan; www.toray.com) has some 20,000 t/y of capacity at its disposal.