MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema announced the construction of a polyamide 11 powders plant on its Changshu platform in China, scheduled to come on stream in the first quarter of 2023, said the company.
This investment will further support the growing demand for advanced bio-circular materials in Asia.
Rilsan polyamide 11 powders, currently produced in France entirely from renewable castor beans, are recognized worldwide for their superior properties and performance in terms of toughness, durability, lightweight and processing versatility. They are used in very demanding applications and provide innovative solutions for fast-growing markets driven by megatrends such as durable home appliances, energy-efficient transport, and advanced additive manufacturing (3D printing) primarily for consumer, industrial, and aerospace markets.
Beyond the bio-based nature of the powder, this project will also contribute to Arkema’s ambitious sustainability commitments by using highly efficient manufacturing processes and by being physically closer to the new amino 11 plant in Singapore.
"We are very excited about this expansion", said Erwoan Pezron, Senior Vice President, High Performance Polymers. "There is strong and growing demand in Asia across all of our key powders markets and this added capacity will enable us to supply the region from within the region."
This expansion goes hand in hand with the Group’s major polyamide 11 plant currently under construction in Singapore, which is on track to start production mid-2022, and is included in the EUR450 million exceptional capital expenditure envelope dedicated to polyamide expansion in Asia.
In April this year, Arkema confirmed it is on track to begin production of Amino 11 and its flagship Rilsan® polyamide 11 high performance polymer at the new plant on Jurong Island, Singapore in the first half of next year. This plant, for which production will be 100%-derived from renewable castor beans, represents a 50% increase in Arkema’s global polyamide 11 capacity.
As per MRC, Arkema is further increasing its fluoropolymer production capacities in Changshu, China, by 35% in 2022. The increase in capacity is scheduled to come on stream before the end of 2022, the company said in a statement. Financial and overall capacity details of the expansion project were not disclosed.
Arkema is one of the world's leading chemical manufacturers headquartered in Colombes (near Paris, France). Founded in 2004 as a result of the restructuring of the French oil company Total, Arkema, with a turnover of EUR6.5 billion, has operations in 40 countries, 10 research centers around the world, and 85 plants in Europe, North America and Asia.
MRC