GUANGZHOU, CHINA — Leuna, Germany-based Domo Chemicals is building a nylon compounding facility that stands out in the plastics manufacturing sector in China.
Ludovic Tonnerre, the company's Asia managing director, revealed details of the new site in Jiaxing, at the May 18 Chinaplas Media Day event in Guangzhou.
Referred to as a “fully environmental friendly project” by the company, the facility boasts an integrated water treatment unit, which will save 5 metric tons per year of COD (chemical oxygen demand, for the measurement of organic compounds in water) and 55,000 cubic meters of industrial water.
As well, the factory will install solar panels on the roof to generate power. Coal-based electricity remains the primary power source in China and is notorious for the air pollution it causes.
To further pursue the goal of clean air, the Jiaxing plant also will set up an air filtering unit with a performance rate of 99.9 percent, reducing 240 tons of VOC (volatile organic compounds) per year. Tonnerre said the operation will meet the most stringent regulatory targets in the field of air quality fume emissions.
The new plant will be located in the CECEP Environmental Protection Technology Park, which is positioned as a “sustainable economy demonstration platform” that promotes the use of energy-saving and environmental friendly technologies.
The privately owned company said it has ordered a second production line of 5,000-metric-ton annual capacity for the Jiaxing plant and expects to be fully operational by the end of the year.
Capacity will start at 10,000 metric tons in 2015 and will expand to 15,000 tonnes in 2016 and 20,000 tonnes in 2019.
As part of Domo Engineering Plastics' global manufacturing network, the China facility will serve Asian customers with an extensive variety of products, including Domamid nylon 6, nylon 6/6 and high-temperature nylon compounds, as well as its post-industrial Econamid and Econamid Oro nylon 6 and nylon 6/6 products.
The Jiaxing site also will offer fast response color-matching service for pre-colored nylon compounds.
The company is expanding its China lab to provide local customers with formulation redesign, cost-reducing alternatives, as well as innovative nylon materials. By 2016, Domo Chemicals China will be able to conduct all lab services independently, Tonnerre said.
The company aims to transform itself from a nylon feedstock supplier to a downstream nylon expert by 2016 and further grow into a solution portfolio supplier by 2018.
The Econamid series are made from post-industrial scrap including yarns, textile, fish nets, and films. Econamid currently makes up for about half of Domo Chemical's business in China, according to Denny Meng, commercial manger of Domo Engineering Plastic Asia.
Tonnerre added that Econamid products have a 15-20 percent price advantage compared to virgin resins, even with the falling oil prices.
Domo Chemicals, part of Domo Investment Group, is a fully integrated nylon 6 specialist with $1 billion in global sales and 850 employees in Germany, Italy, China and the United States.
