AKRON, OHIO — Eastman is increasing capacity for plasticizers at its headquarters in Kingsport, Tenn., as well as at plants in Maryland and Estonia. The U.S. expansions will total almost 20 million pounds, while the Estonian project will increase capacity by more than 24 million pounds.
Eastman also has entered the plasticizer market in Brazil by acquiring plasticizer maker Scandiflex do Brasil. No purchase price was disclosed in the deal for Scandiflex, which had sales of $54 million last year. All of these recent efforts are for non-phthalate plasticizers.
This week’s video also details how materials firm Network Polymers is growing at its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Network recently installed a new twin-screw extrusion line that will increase its compounding capacity by more than 10 million pounds. The line and additional auxiliary equipment were supplied by NFM Welding Extruders of nearby Massillon, Ohio as part of a $1.4 million investment. The new line will make glass-filled compounds and will allow Network to add as many as six new jobs by the end of the year.
A pair of global projects round out this week’s video: Lanxess is spending more than $30 million to increase glass fiber capacity in Belgium and to increase compounding capacity in Germany and China. While in India, DuPont has opened a technology center focused on applications for the automotive market.
