ExxonMobil Chemical has launched production on 1 billion pound capacity polypropylene resin unit in Baton Rouge, La.
In a news release, officials with ExxonMobil in Irving, Texas, said the new capacity meets growing demand for high-performance, lightweight and durable plastics, particularly for automotive parts that can improve fuel efficiency and reduce vehicle emissions.
"The ingenuity of our people and our investments in technology enable us to produce high quality products that are essential to daily life," Product Solutions President Karen McKee said in the release.
The unit represents an investment of more than $500 million. ExxonMobil maintained its investment in the project through the COVID pandemic and related economic downturn, officials said. They added that the firm's management experience and technology capability enabled the unit to start up according to planned cost and schedule.
During construction, the project employed more than 650 and now has created 65 new full-time jobs. ExxonMobil's integrated operations in Baton Rouge include a more than 500,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery, as well as chemical, lubricants, polyolefins and plastics manufacturing.
ExxonMobil has more than 5,500 employees and contractors in the Baton Rouge area. The firm's operations account for approximately one in every 10 jobs in the region.
The Baton Rouge startup is the second major PP resin capacity addition for North America this year. Earlier, new producer Heartland Polymers opened a unit in Strathcona County, Alberta, that will have one billion pounds of capacity at full production.
ExxonMobil Chemical is a unit of global energy giant ExxonMobil Corp. The business is a major producer of PP and polyethylene resins, as well as specialty plastic and related feedstocks.