AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals is investing more than 12 million euros ($14.7 million) to expand production capacity and upgrade its organic peroxides facility in Los Reyes, Mexico.
The Dutch chemicals company announced Jan. 17 that the project involves construction of a new facility to make Perkadox CH-50 organic peroxides, which are sold primarily into the thermoset resin market.
The investment is the latest in a series of recent investments at the Los Reyes site by the company's polymer chemistry business. In January 2017, it finalized a 22 million euro ($27 million) organic peroxides expansion, followed in May by the completion of a project which increased overall peroxyester capacity in North America by 40 percent.
The latest expansion project is expected to be completed by May 2019.
“We have a growing portfolio of customers, so continued investment to increase production capability at Los Reyes is critical to ensure we continue to meet demand while positioning ourselves for sustainable growth,” explained Johan Landfors, executive committee member responsible for Polymer Chemistry.
Mexico, he went on to say, is an “important market” for AkzoNobel.
Organic peroxides are essential ingredients in the manufacturing of a wide range of polymers. One of the key growth segments for this market is ambient temperature curing of acrylic resins, which are used in road marking, resurfacing and roofing applications.
