MOSCOW (MRC) -- Material supplier SI Group (Schenectady, New York) intends to turn its Bethune, France manufacturing site into a regional hub for best-in-class tackifier and reinforcing resin production and technology by doubling the tackifier resin capacity there, according to the company's press release.
The expansion addresses growing demand for tackifiers in one of the company’s core regions and is expected to be completed later this year.
Tackifiers are low-molecular weight compounds (oligomers) that are added to adhesive formulations to improve tack and peel adhesion.
“We have taken the decision to further grow capacity as another step forward in reinventing our business model,” says Robert Kaiser, vice president/rubber and adhesives solutions at SI Group.
The expansion in Bethune, France follows the company’s announcement in September 2020 to also expand resin capacity in Nanjing, China.
As MRC reported earlier, SI Group shut its phenol and acetone plant in Navi Mumbai (Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) in late January, 2019, for an unknown reason. This plant with a capacity of 36,000 tonnes of phenol and 20,000 tonnes of acetone per year remained closed for 10 days.
Phenol is derived from benzene and largely used to produce bisphenol A (BPA), used in the manufacture of plastics such as polycarbonate (PC) and epoxy resins. It is also used in the production of phenolic resins for the construction industry.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall consumption of PC granules (excluding exports from Belarus) totalled 8,100 tonnes in January 2021, up by 20% year on year (6,800 tonnes a year earlier).
SI Group, headquartered in the United States, was founded in 1906. The company is part of the Addivant USA, LLC structure. The production facilities of the company are located on five continents, in 10 countries. SI Group manufactures petrochemical products and specialty resins, supplying its products to consumers in 90 countries.
MRC