Arkema, a global producer of state-of-the-art specialty chemicals for applications in fossil fuel preservation, future energy, and lighter materials, drinking water and climate change, has announced the successful startup of capacity increase at its Changshu site in China for Kynar fluoropolymers.
In early 2011, Arkema had announced that the company will be increasing its production capacity for fluorinated polymers at the Changshu site by 50%. Now, the company reports that it achieved the increased capacity a couple of weeks before schedule.
Presently, the company has major Kynar PVDF production facilities in the North American, European and Asian continents. This will help it address the increasing demand for fluoropolymers in many countries. The fluorinated polymer product line has shown considerable amount of growth prospects.
The new line specifically designated for producing Kynar along with its vinylidene fluoride (VF2) monomer is on stream. It will help the company to sustain its development in high demand specialty products and also strengthen its presence in emerging countries. The traditional global markets for chemical engineering, offshore oil extraction and coatings are seeing good growth and these are increasing the demand for PVDF. The increase in capacity will help address this demand. Further, new emerging applications for photovoltaic panels, lithium-ion batteries, and water treatment also utilize PVDF.
Arkema is able to cater to the growing demand with its sites - the Calvert City site in the USA, the Pierre-Bénite site in Europe and the Changshu site in China.
Source: http://www.arkema.com/