Materials supplier Ineos Styrolution is increasing specialty resin production capacity at its plant in Altamira, Mexico.
Frankfurt-based Ineos Styrolution will add almost 45 million pounds of annual capacity for ABS and ASA copolymer resins, officials said in a Dec. 6 news release. The increase is needed to support growing demand in the Americas region, they added.
Demand growth is coming from the automotive, construction, household, toys, sports and leisure market segments. This increased demand is in line with market researchers' observations of key segments like automotive and construction, which show positive growth, officials said. The new capacity will increase the firm's total copolymer capacity in Altamira to almost 400 million pounds.
The increase will result from a debottlenecking of the Altamira copolymer plant, and also will lead to a reduction of imports of those materials from other regions that were needed to support growth in the Americas, they added. Startup of the new capacity is expected by the first quarter of 2018.
“The capacity expansion will allow us to grow together with our customers and provide a service level according to their expectations in this dynamic market,” Americas standard products vice president Ricardo Cuetos said in the release.
Ineos Styrolution is a joint venture between Ineos Group AG of Rolle, Switzerland and Frankfurt-based Styrolution GmbH. The firm employs 3,100 at 15 sites worldwide and posted sales of almost $5.4 billion in 2015.
In October, Ineos Styrolution announced that it was acquiring the global K-Resin styrene-butadiene copolymers (SBC) business of Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. and Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. for an undisclosed price.