HOUSTON – Specialty chemicals provider Milliken & Co. and surfactants and specialty chemicals producer Oxiteno USA LLC have entered into a multi-year co-manufacturing agreement, which will provide increased and streamlined access to state-of-the-art alkoxylation technology. Aligning manufacturing expertise and accessible facility locations, Milliken and Oxiteno bring unique capabilities to strategically grow production capacities for customers in the United States and global markets.

“As a diversified manufacturer, Milliken strives to provide innovative chemicals with the utmost attention to customer service,” said Russ Rudolph, Vice President of Milliken’s Performance Colorants and Ingredients business. “This co-manufacturing agreement complements Milliken’s alkoxylation assets in Inman, South Carolina, drawing upon Oxiteno’s expanding U.S. presence to increase production capacity for Milliken additives and meet customer demand.”

The co-manufacturing agreement will utilize Oxiteno’s new alkoxylation unit in Pasadena, Texas, which is expected to open in the second quarter of 2018. Offering strategic access to the U.S. Gulf region, the Pasadena facility incorporates state-of-the-art alkoxylation assets and technologies, and has a nameplate capacity of 170,000 metric tons per year.

“This agreement and the partnership with Milliken is a very important milestone to continue accelerating our growth through being an innovative solutions provider of surfactants and alkoxylates to our customers in the U.S. It will help leverage the investment in our new alkoxylation facility in Texas while also creating a more sustainable and safer alternative to the long-distance transportation of ethylene oxide,” said Timothy Madden, Chief Operating Officer of Oxiteno in the United States.