Albemarle inaugurated the Research and Operations Centre (ROC) of its Performance Catalyst Solutions division at the company’s catalyst manufacturing facility in Yeosu, Korea. The inauguration was marked by a grand celebration which had local and regional customers, dignitaries and media in attendance.
The manufacturing facility at Yeosu currently produces single site components and catalysts for the polymer industry in quantities at pilot scale and lab scale. The ROC will support research and development and manufacturing activities for these products through its new polymerization labs. The ROC will also extend support in garnering new business in the Asia-Pacific region for products from the commercial plant scheduled to be completed by the year end at Yeosu.
According to Amy H. Motto, Vice President of Catalysts global Business Unit at Albemarle, the Yeosu facility that employs Albemarle’s proprietary Advantage and ActivCat technologies to produce polymer catalysts will be supported by the ROC to scale up production to meet rising global demand and specific customer requirements.
Jason Bevan, Site Manager of Albemarle Chemicals Korea believes that the ROC will facilitate faster development of new formulations and quicker time-to-market for their products. The extension of the Yeosu facility for production of Albemarle PureGrowth products has been approved by the company’s Board of Directors. The products find application in the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process used to produce semiconductor chips, optoelectronic devices and LEDs.