CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH — Emerald Kalama Chemical, a business group of Emerald Performance Materials, has completed key upgrades to the logistics infrastructure at its facility in Kalama, Washington, where the business manufactures K-FLEX^® plasticizers, Kalama^® benzoates and intermediates, and Kalama flavor and fragrance ingredients. The upgrades will enhance service and operational capabilities by streamlining logistics for customers worldwide.

As demand increases, the site must handle increased volumes of final product and incoming materials by sea, truck and rail. The latest logistics investment is designed to enable handling of larger quantities of final product. Upgrades include improvements to docks, added truck loading facilities and an additional rail line.

"The Kalama, Washington site has been used to produce Kalama benzoate-based products since 1971, and for good reason; its location on the Port of Kalama and on a rail line is highly strategic for global transports to provide expedited service to our customers and distribution partners worldwide," said Claudia Knowlton-Chike, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain, for Emerald Kalama Chemical.

In recent years, Emerald has pursued an ambitious strategy to expand its capabilities and offerings. To achieve this, the company has made a series of investments to expand the range of specialty chemicals it produces, support research and development, and more than double capacity for K-FLEX plasticizers and aroma chemicals, which utilize key feedstocks produced at the Kalama site.

The company has also made recent investments to expand capabilities, offerings and global service at its other operations. For example, in 2015, Emerald completed the acquisition of Innospec's aroma chemical business based in Widnes, UK, and began construction on a $40 million project to increase capacity for Kalama benzaldehyde and Purox^® benzoic acid at its Rotterdam, the Netherlands, facility.