Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corp., are building a polyphenylene sulfide compounding line at a plant in Oak Creek, Wis.
The plant is operated by DIC Imaging Products USA LLC. The new PPS compounds production line will be the company's first in North America and is scheduled to begin operation in the fall of 2020, officials with Parsippany, N.J.-based Sun said in a March 18 news release.
The line will have annual production capacity of almost 7 million pounds, increasing Sun's total global PPS compounding capacity to more than 100 million pounds.
"The decision to establish a production line in the United States … ensures a stable supply, shortened lead times and reinforces our ability to develop products that satisfy the quality requirements of our customers," Advanced Materials President Mehran Yazdani said in the release.
Officials added that PPS compounds are valued for their excellent heat and chemical resistance as well as dimensional stability. The materials are used as an alternative to metal in automotive components and other products.
The global market for PPS compounds is expected to grow 20 percent from 2017-2021, as the volume of PPS compounds used in vehicle electrical systems and hybrid/electric vehicles increases, officials added.
Sun's product line includes printing inks, coatings, pigments, polymers and both liquid and solid compounds. Tokyo-based DIC and Sun combined employ more than 20,000 and have annual sales of more than $7.5 billion.