SPARKS, MD – Active Minerals International (AMI), a supplier of high-quality gellant attapulgite, announced that its latest capacity expansion is ready to start up at the company’s operations in Florida. According to company President Dennis C. Parker, the initiative is aligned with increasing global demand in AMI’s major markets and new developments in international coatings markets.

AMI’s capacity expansion is designed to increase overall production of gel-grade products by 40%. Equally important is that the mining operation, which won the highest reclamation awards from the Georgia Mining Association six years in a row, is well positioned to meet the global demand for high-quality gellant crude for several decades. Parker said, “AMI has a proven record of reliable supply of attapulgite products for over 50 years and this is just one of many steps we’ve taken to ensure we continue to do so for the next 50.”

While Parker cites the rate of construction and infrastructure development in emerging economies as one factor increasing demand for attapulgite, he explained, “The strong interest in AMI products by international customers and distributors stems from the fact that coatings professionals, from formulators to chief financial officers, recognize the world has only a handful of foremost authorities in attapulgite technology, and most of them are here at Active Minerals.”

AMI’s Director of Technical Sales and Marketing, Jeffrey B. Carr, described additional factors driving demand. “Min-U-Gel^® attapulgite customers are a priority for Active Minerals. We bring the highest quality standards, customer service and supply chain management practices to bear on customers’ behalf. Our Quincy, Florida, attapulgite operation serves our customers with more than 120,000 square feet of storage for bagged product, allowing us to ship from inventory and maintain short lead times, even during the coatings market’s busy Spring season. In addition, being one of the top 100 exporters in the U.S. coupled with our strong logistic capabilities provides excellent service to our international customers.”

Min-U-Gel thixotropic thickener and suspension agents are produced in a unique way that makes Active Minerals International’s gelling grade products 10% purer than competing grades of gelling clays. Through a robust ISO 9001 registered Quality Management System and a dynamic continual improvement culture, AMI has a well-proven track record of consistent quality and customer satisfaction.