Nov 2 2010
Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) announced plans to add production of cellulose triacetate (CTA) at its Kingsport, Tenn., site.
CTA is a material widely used in the liquid crystal display (LCD) industry in the manufacture of polarizer films for computers, televisions, monitors, and handheld devices. The project will increase Eastman’s total CTA capacity by almost 70 percent and start up is expected in the first quarter 2012.
“This capacity addition is significant for two reasons,” said Mark Costa, executive vice president, specialty polymers, coatings and adhesives and chief marketing officer. “It not only substantially enhances our ability to meet customers’ growing needs for CTA, but more importantly, the new asset was designed to meet the stringent quality and product consistency requirements of the LCD industry. The state-of-the-art facility leverages technology improvements from other areas in Eastman’s acetyls stream and positions us to grow with our customers into the future,” added Costa.
Eastman believes that the demand for cellulosic materials will continue to grow, with the strong demand for cellulose esters in liquid crystal displays more than offsetting the decline in legacy photographic markets. The company continues to invest in the development of proprietary product solutions in its Specialty Plastics segment for this high growth market.
Source: http://www.eastman.com/