Volgograd Chemical Company will manufacturer Firestop Chemicals' Noflan FR in Russia

Volgograd Chemical Company will manufacturer Firestop Chemicals' Noflan FR in Russia

UK company Firestop Chemicals and Russia’s Volgograd Chemical Company (Vocco) are set to start production of a new flame-retardant. Under a joint development and production agreement Vocco will manufacture Firestop’s Noflan flame-retardant at its Volgograd site. First commercial delivery to the UK is planned for April.

A pilot plant will be installed and commissioned in February and March, according to Firestop. The agreement, signed in November, also involves the Moscow-based International Science and Technology Centre, which provided a $277,000 (Ј153,000) grant.

Firestop commercial director Peter Flanagan said the original formulation of Noflan, a non-brominated flame-retardant, was developed by Russian scientists at the Semenov Institute in Moscow. Firestop worked with them to develop a commercial synthesis, he said, and is now on the verge of commercial production.

Initial annual production will be 200 tonnes, but Firestop expects output to rise rapidly as sales increase. Production will operate on a 24-hour basis for 300 days a year. Firestop is a subsidiary of Flintstone Technologies, which has a particular focus on commercialising new technologies developed in the former Soviet Union.