INVISTA, a world leader in nylon intermediates and fibers, announced today that it is moving forward on its plans to construct a manufacturing facility at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in China to meet the region’s demand for nylon 6,6 intermediates and polymer.
The company is currently engaged in project engineering, which will include an environmental impact assessment to be completed by the end of 2011. INVISTA expects to begin construction of the plant in 2012 and commence production in phases beginning in 2014. When the new plant is complete, it will be the most energy efficient and technologically advanced nylon intermediates plant in the world, underscoring INVISTA’s continuing focus on improving energy efficiency and developing innovative technologies.
“The construction of this plant had been temporarily delayed due to the global economic crisis, which slowed demand for nylon 6,6 intermediates and polymer. We are very encouraged by the increasing demand for these products in China and the rest of Asia and are therefore moving forward with our plans,” said Warren Primeaux, president, INVISTA Intermediates. “In fact, the changes in timing have given us an opportunity to make significant advances in our technology, and we will be incorporating these into the new plant.”
The state-of-the-art plant will employ INVISTA’s latest advances in its proprietary butadiene-based technology to produce hexamethylene diamine (HMD) and adiponitrile (ADN), along with a variety of specialty chemicals and nylon 6,6 polymer. INVISTA’s products are used in a wide range of applications, such as airbags, carpet, plastics and outdoor equipment.
To leverage its global resources and experience, INVISTA has named Steve Kromer, an INVISTA senior vice president, as the leader of this core strategy for INVISTA. Mr. Kromer plans to establish his base of operations in China, pending residency approvals.