Brazilian resins producer Braskem (São Paulo; www.braskem.com.br) plans to expand LLDPE production at its Camaçari site in Bahia / Brazil by 120,000 t/y. About 100,000 t/y will be sold as “Flexus” metallocene-based PE, for use in packaging applications.

Braskem has completed the engineering studies for the BRL 50m project, which involves converting an existing PE line, and production is expected to begin in the first half of 2015. "We are expanding our offering of products in the Braskem Flexus line to support our clients' growth in market segments that demand high-tech resins," explained Luciano Guidolin, the company’s polyolefins vice president.

Braskem said it has the capacity to produce more than 350,000 t/y of metallocene-based PE. Flexus metallocene-products are used in packaging applications requiring features such as increased resistance, gloss, transparency and sealing properties, it added.