Worldwide specialty chemical company Lanxess AG is investing 15 million euro in its glass fiber plant in the Antwerp docklands, Belgium,
according to its press release on September 5.
With the expansion, the actual annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons will increase by 10%. The announcement was made during a Lanxess High-Tech Plastics Day at the facilities for caprolactam and glass fibers in Belgium. With the investment the glass fiber plant will replace both furnaces.
“The high-tech plastics business is a major growth driver for Lanxess. There is attractive business potential in the global market arising from the increasing demand for modern mobility as well as from the electric and electronic markets,” stated Werner Breuers, Member of the Board of Management of Lanxess AG.
The global demand for high-tech plastics is expected to increase by roughly 7% per year through 2020, as said.
Just before summer a Lanxess investment project of 35 million euro to expand the production of the plastic intermediate caprolactam at the site in the Antwerp docklands was finalized. The production capacity of 200,000 metric tons per year will be increased by another 10%.
Lanxess has been investing substantial amounts in the expansion of its global production network for high-tech plastics during the last 18 months, according to the press release. Including the glass fibers expansion, recent investments for high-tech plastics accounted for 90 million euro.
New compounding facilities for Semi-Crystalline Products (SCP) are being built in the United States and Asia. In the existing compounding plants investments are being made to increase capacity.
“The investments in our Antwerp facilities for caprolactam and now glass fibers further strengthen our competitiveness,” said Michael Zobel, Head of the SCP Business Unit.
“More than half of the caprolactam and glass fibers produced are used internally. This perfect upstream-integrated value chain is a key success factor for our business. With the production of these intermediates Antwerp is really the heart of the Lanxess high-tech plastics business,” he added.
Source : www.adsalecprj.com
