AMSTERDAM - AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals is investing more than €12 million to expand production capacity and upgrade its organic peroxides facility in Los Reyes, Mexico. Organic peroxides are essential ingredients in the manufacturing of a wide range of polymers.

The project involves construction of a new facility to make Perkadox CH-50 organic peroxides, which are sold primarily into the thermoset resin market, where the company is a global market leader. One of the key growth segments for this market is ambient temperature curing of acrylic resins, which are used in road marking, resurfacing and roofing applications.

The investment is the latest in a series of recent investments at the Los Reyes site by the company's Polymer Chemistry business. In January 2017, it finalized a €22 million organic peroxides expansion, followed in May by the completion of a project that increased overall peroxyester capacity in North America by 40%. The latest expansion project is expected to be completed by May 2019.