Solvay hikes speciality polymers capacity at Panoli; announces acquisition in surfactants space

摘要

BELGIUM-based chemicals group, Solvay, has announced a capacity increase of 70% at its Panoli (Gujarat) plant for the production of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyaryl-etherketones (PAEK). Panoli is Solvay's largest plant worldwide for these two high performance polymers. Nearly half of this capacity increase has already been implemented and successfully brought online, the company informed in a press state- ment. The second phase of the project will be completed by mid 2013 and will allow the plant to continue to satisfy growth in demand. The company sells PEEK under the brand name 'KetaSpire' and PAEK under AvaSpire'. The products are used in a diverse range of applications spanning many industries including aeronautic, automotive, healthcare, electronics, oil & gas exploration and production, and process industries such as semiconductor manufacturing. " Solvay is delighted with the growth of its line of polyketone materials and we are very excited to be adding capacity for this business that we launched just a few years ago," commented Mr. Augusto Di Donfrancesco, General Manager of the Global Business Unit Specialty Polymers.