ESSEN, Germany—Materials firm Evonik Industries A.G. is bringing more compounding capacity to the U.S.
Officials with Evonik in Essen, Germany, said Jan. 8 that it is planning an additional line for manufacturing Acrylite-brand acrylic molding compounds at its plant in Osceola, Ark. The expansion will nearly double capacity of specialty molding compounds there.
Construction of the new compounding line will start in early 2018. Completion and startup is scheduled for early 2019.
In a news release, Siamak Djafarian, Evonik molding compounds product line head, said expanding compounding capacity in Osceola "is the next logical step in our efforts to implement our global strategy for specialty molding compounds."
He added that Evonik is the only acrylic maker in the world that has fully integrated MMA and PMMA production networks with downstream compounding in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Performance Materials Americas head Jack Chenault added that demand for acrylic compounds is on the rise in the U.S., as well as the growing Mexican and South American markets, especially for construction, lighting and automotive applications.
News of the compounding expansion continues a busy pace for Evonik. In the second half of 2017 alone, the firm signed an agreement to acquire the high-concentrates additive compounding business of 3M Co., completed its $630 million purchase of the silica business unit of Huber Engineered Materials and announced plans to start up a new production plant for specialty copolyesters at a facility currently under construction in Witten, Germany.
Evonik makes a range of specialty chemicals and plastics, employs 33,000 worldwide and posts annual sales of more than $15 billion.