Lanxess AG, a specialty chemicals company, has started operation at its new plant for nylon in Antwerp, Belgium.
Lanxess has invested 75 million euros ($101.9 million) into the plant. The facility is designed for an annual capacity of around 90,000 metric tons, says the company.
The new plant for the polymerization of high-tech plastics has been built near to the company's caprolactam facility in Antwerp. Caprolactam is an intermediate for plastics manufacturing and with the inauguration of the nylon plant, Lanxess states that it will be able to increase its captive use of caprolactam.
All plastics manufactured by Lanxess at Antwerp will be processed within its global network of compounding facilities into the final Durethan-brand products.
Lanxess highlights that the automotive industry is a key customer of its High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit. Materials from the company help to build much lighter plastic parts that can replace metal ones in motor vehicles and thus contribute to reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
