Clariant expands in masterbatch

Clariant announced plans on Feb. 18 to raise production of masterbatch for high temperature plastics, one day after the Swiss group said its 2015 sales were hit by the strong Swiss franc and global economic uncertainty.

Specialty chemicals producer Clariant said it plans to invest more than CHF 7.5 million ($7.54 million) in Europe, Asia and North America to expand production capacity in color and additive masterbatches for use in engineering resins and high-temperature plastics like PEEK (polyether ether ketone). The largest part of the investment will be made at plants in Shanghai, Singapore, and at two plants in the U.S., although Clariant did not break down the investment at these facilities.

“Global demand for high-temperature plastics and compatible masterbatches is booming,” said Jeff Saeger, who heads the expansion program for Clariant. “Fueled by new products in the automotive, small consumer electronics and electrical markets, the use of engineering materials is growing at annual rates of 7 or 8 percent, well above the growth rate of the plastics industry as a whole. Clariant has state-of-the-art capabilities in the United States to handle these materials and will now leverage that experience and expertise around the world.”

The three U.S. masterbatch plants referenced by Saeger are in Holden, Mass.; Lewiston, Maine; and Albion, Mich.; these plants, said Clariant, “already have vast knowledge and experience in working with both engineering and high-temperature materials [processed at temperatures of 300°C or higher]”.

However, Clariant continued: “Capabilities in Asia have previously been more limited, focusing mainly on engineering materials (like ABS, polycarbonate and certain nylons), which are processed at moderate temperatures. Customers in this region have therefore often had to source the more advanced products from overseas and thereby facing longer product development and delivery times. That is about to change.”

The group said that in Shanghai, it is installing new equipment and implementing procedures required for masterbatch production based on engineering and high temperature resins. The new production lines and associated capabilities are expected to be ready for start-up by the end of 2016.

In the U.S., Clariant installed equipment for processing fluoropolymers in Lewiston, Maine, in late 2015. It said new lines for specialty engineering compounds and black masterbatch for high-temperature resins will be added in Holden, Massachusetts, beginning in the first quarter of 2016.