THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (Aug. 9, 1 p.m. ET) — An expansion of Huntsman Polyurethanes' MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) capacity at Geismar, La. is on the cards, according to an Aug. 9 Huntsman Corp. announcement.
Huntsman said it has commissioned engineering design studies to increase its global capacity — by an unspecified amount — for the manufacture of MDI, by investing in the Geismar operation.
“We are studying several options for expansion of the Geismar facility to ensure we can satisfy the strong demand in residential and commercial insulation and to maintain our position as the leading MDI supplier in the Americas region,” said Anthony Hankins, president of Huntsman Polyurethanes, in the announcement.
Hankins also noted that a benefit of U.S. shale gas is that “the economics of investing in our U.S. facilities has improved significantly.”
The Huntsman executive added that the global market for MDI urethanes “is expected to continue to grow strongly well into the next decade.” Huntsman's proposed investment in the US “will complement our previously announced planned expansion in China,” he added.
Huntsman Polyurethanes operates world-scale MDI facilities in Geismar, Shanghai and Rozenburg, Rotterdam.
