Aug 18 2006
Huntsman Corporation today announced plans for a 50,000 MTE expansion of its flagship titanium dioxide manufacturing facility at Greatham, U.K., bringing the facility’s annual capacity to 150,000 MTE.
The expansion will be based upon Huntsman’s proprietary ICON chloride technology and is the second significant project at the Greatham site since Huntsman acquired the TiO2 business in 1999. The company expects the new capacity to be operational in the second half of 2007 and fully completed in early 2008.
Huntsman said the expansion is the first of several major steps its Pigments business plans to take over the next several months to further strengthen its global TiO2 market position.
“This capacity increase will position us well to grow with the titanium dioxide market and to participate more fully in sectors where our high performing TIOXIDE® product portfolio can create substantial value for our customers,” said Pigments Division President, Tom Keenan. “We are extremely optimistic about our global position in this industry and the plans we have in place to further strengthen our competitive portfolio by meeting the growing needs of our customers. We will have additional announcements in the coming months.”
Titanium dioxide is the most commonly used white pigment that gives consumer products their brightness and opacity. End-use markets include paints, plastics, textiles, paper, food and cosmetics.