Expansions: Solvay expands US sulphone business; BASF to expand PA and PBT capacities in Malaysia

Chemical firm Solvay has announced an ambitious expansion plan for its US-based sulphone business, which focuses on polymer solutions for various critical life science applications, as part of its ongoing commitment to build capacity in this field to support a growing global customer base.

The full scope of the multi-year expansion plans will ultimately touch all of Solvay's sulphone polymers including Udel polysulphones (PSU), Veradel polyether sulphones (PESU) and Radel polyphenyl sulphones (PPSU). The first major investment steps will include a capacity increase for Udel PSU of over 25% by 2024 at the company’s production site in Marietta, Ohio, with much of this increase expected online by early 2023. Likewise, production capacity for dichlorodiphenyl sulphone (DCDPS) — an important common building block used in all sulphone polymers — will also be expanded by more than 25% by 2024, resulting in capacity increases at the company’s Augusta, Georgia site by end of 2022.

“This new multi-year program marks an important step in our strategy for future growth and affirms our number one position in the US sulphone polymers market,” says Carmelo Lo Faro, president of Solvay's Materials segment. “Essentially, the expansions will address the growth potential of our sulphone products in high-performance life-saving and life-sustaining areas, such as healthcare, water purification and pharma processing.”

Key application market segments to benefit from these investments include hemodialysis, medical instruments and pharmaceuticals — in both development and production, and water purification, where Solvay expects strong double-digit growth in terms of global demand. Moreover, high-performance sulphone polymers also play a growing role in residential and commercial heating and plumbing systems.

Meanwhile in other news, German chemical firm BASF’s Malaysian operations BASF (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd will expand the production capacity of its Ultramid polyamide (PA) and Ultradur polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) product by 5,000 tonnes/year. Completion of the debottlenecking at BASF’s production site in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, is planned for Q2 2023.

The engineering plastics market in ASEAN is expected to grow at approximately 5% per annum between 2020-2030. This growth is driven by the increased demand for engineering plastics in different industry segments, such as automotive, consumer electronics, and electrical & electronics.

The production plant in Pasir Gudang was founded in 1999. The engineering plastics compounding plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor, produces Ultramid polyamide and Ultradur PBT.

Ultramid and Ultradur are used in automotive applications, electrical & electronics sector, industrial products and consumer goods.

“BASF is committed to the engineering plastics market, which we believe offers significant growth opportunities. The additional capacity will help us meet the strong market demand for our Ultramid PA and Ultradur PBT products, as well as strengthen our market position, especially in ASEAN,” said Andy Postlethwaite, Senior Vice President, Performance Materials Asia Pacific, BASF.

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