Nouryon, the AkzoNobel specialty chemical spin-off, is setting up a “world-scale” polymerization plant for its Expancel expandable microspheres in the U.S.
The Dutch chemical company has selected a location in the U.S. but told Plastics News Europe it could not give further information “until the project is approved” by the company board.
The new plant, Nouryon said in a March 7 statement, will significantly strengthen its position in expandable microspheres, which are used as fillers and blowing agents for lightweighting and cost cutting projects.
According to Nouryon, advanced engineering of the plant is currently under way and long delivery item procurement has started.
The project is scheduled for completion in late 2020, subject to final board approval.
“This investment is an important step to meet the fast-growing demand for this product,” said Sylvia Winkel Pettersson, director of Expancel at Nouryon.
Expancel, according to Pettersson, is used in a multitude of applications and markets, offering benefits such as lower density and better insulation.
The planned U.S. investment follows a recently completed capacity increase at Sundsvall, Sweden, which is scheduled to be fully on-line in the second quarter.