The company will begin production in “Asia-Pacific” in 2007

Ticona is to build an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) plant in Asia.

Yesterday, at the Chinaplas show in Guangzhou, the company announced it would invest in a 20,000tpa facility in “Asia-Pacific”. It gave no more specific details on a location, but said site selection was at an “advanced stage”, with preliminary engineering work complete.

The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2007, the company said. This will bring its worldwide UHMWPE capacity up to 90,000tpa. The company already has production facilities in the US and Germany for the product, which is branded GUR by Ticona.

“The Asian investment will meet growing demand for UHMWPE,” said David Postolowski, global GUR business director.