COLOMBES, France - In order to sustain its growth in the specialty acrylic polymer market in Asia, Arkema has announced the construction of a production plant at its Changshu, China, site. The expansion will be through Arkema’s subsidiary Coatex.

 

"This investment of some EUR 15 million will provide Coatex, which already has an industrial presence in the United States and in Europe, with an acrylic polymer production capacity in Asia from mid-2011, targeting growing markets in paints, mineral processing, construction and paper,” said Alain Mari, President of Coatex.

 

The project represents a further step in Arkema’s development drive in Asia and is fully in line with the Group’s strategy to consolidate its acrylics and downstream acrylics activities.

 

The new plant will boost the Changshu industrial platform, which already houses fluorochemicals, polyamides, organic peroxides and slush-molding activities. Arkema recently confirmed two major investments for this platform, one in new-generation refrigerant fluids (HFC 125) and the other in Kynar® fluorinated polymers. The investment will eventually make Changshu Arkema’s third largest industrial facility in the world.

 

Coatex manufactures mostly acrylic-based polymers used as dispersants and thickeners. The main outlets for these high-growth specialty chemicals activities are paper and paint manufacture, mineral processing, construction, cosmetics, and textiles.