Putting their money where their mouths are – so to speak – Dow (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com) subsidiary Dow Europe (Horgen / Switzerland; www.dow.com) and Aksa Akrilik Kimya (Istanbul / Turkey; www.aksa.com) have breathed life into the carbon fibre memorandum of understanding they had signed in summer this year – see Plasteurope.com of 10.06.2011. In late December 2011, the two companies announced that they had signed a definitive agreement to set up a 50:50 joint venture company for the manufacture and marketing of carbon fibre and its derivatives. No further details regarding start-up date were available.

Located at Aksa’s existing carbon fibre production site in Yalova / Turkey, the fully-integrated jv is to develop and market both products and technical service support for the carbon-fibre based composites industry, which Dow estimates at USD 10 bn globally today, a number expected to rise to USD 40 bn by 2022. A special focus will be on solutions to reduce costs.

Following initial equity investments from both Aksa and Dow, the jv is to finance its growth through cash flow from operations and financial institutions. All in all, the two partners expect investment to reach USD 1 bn in five years. The new Yalova operations are also expected to create up to 1,000 jobs. Commenting on the agreement, Dow executive vice president Heinz Haller said, “Upon completion, the joint venture will be the carbon fibre composite industry’s only large-scale, full-service, integrated solution provider, serving the emerging needs of the world’s leading industries.”