The group is adding a further 16,000tpa at its plant at Bishop in the US

The group is adding a further 16,000tpa at its plant at Bishop in the US

Ticona will add a further 16,000tpa of Celcon polyacetal capacity by the end of this year through a multi-million dollar debottlenecking of its Bishop plant, in the US. The programme will take the plant’s capacity to 102,000tpa from the current 86,000tpa figure and is intended to meet growing global demand for the polymer in 2005 and beyond.

According to North American business line director Bob Engle, the 19% capacity boost at the Texan site reflects strong demand for both traditional applications, such as automotive, industrial appliance and medical, and newer low-gloss grades.

The 60,000tpa acetal plant now being built in China by a consortium of Ticona, Polyplastics, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and Korea Engineering Plastics is a further sign of the group’s confidence in the future of the material.