Expansions: Evonik completes new PA12 complex in Marl, ups capacity by 50%; Teijin starts up production of carbon fibre products in Vietnam

German chemical firm Evonik says it is celebrating a milestone in its history with the construction work on its new polyamide (PA) 12 complex at Marl Chemical Park having completed. It will be taken into operation this year. Evonik has invested around half a billion euros in this future-oriented project, which it says is the largest investment in the company’s history in Germany.

Construction of the new complex has been completed in two years. The individual process units will now be taken into regular operation step-by-step. Full start-up is scheduled for the fourth quarter. The complex creates 120 new highly skilled jobs. At the same time, it increases Evonik's production capacity for the polymer by more than 50%, making it the world's largest PA 12 production complex in Marl (Germany).

Armin Laschet, Minister President of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, applauded the project: “This complex stands for the future viability of our state. Investing in this state-of-the-art complex creates new, highly skilled jobs. Policy-makers need to do everything they can in the future to ensure that such investments are made here in Germany and not in other countries.”

PA12 is used in attractive growth markets such as 3D printing, medical technology, automotive engineering, and as substitute for steel. Evonik's sites in Asia also offered attractive conditions for the construction of the world's most modern PA 12 complex.

Minister President Armin Laschet: “Evonik’s decision to build its new polyamide 12 complex here is further strong evidence of the attractiveness of our federal state. Politicians have to make sure that economic policy provides the right conditions. If we, as the state government, had not started to dismantle unnecessary and restrictive regulations and free up the economy as soon as we took office, this facility might now be in Asia. To make Germany climate-neutral yet ensure it remains an industrial hub, we need a decade of modernization in which we reduce bureaucracy and speed up our planning and permitting processes.”

Christian Kullmann, chairman of Evonik's executive board, praised the fact that the new complex can start operating this year despite the pandemic-related restrictions as a “masterstroke by our team.” He added: “Three years ago, we decided to produce this leading high-tech German product for the world market here in the Ruhr region. We have kept our word and completion of the demanding construction phase is almost on schedule. That creates growth, value, and jobs.”

Evonik has been developing customised high-performance polymers for demanding applications for more than 50 years and is a global leader in the production of PA 12. VESTAMID compounds benefit from high demand in attractive markets, while the PA 12 powder VESTOSINT is used, for example, to coat metals for consumer goods, dishwasher baskets, and parts used in the automotive industry. For many years, Evonik has also developed special polymer powders that enable industrial production of high-tech components using 3D printing.

Meanwhile in other news, Japanese materials firm Teijin Limited says that Teijin Carbon Vietnam Co., Ltd. (TCV) in Ha Nam, Vietnam, has started operating commercially to manufacture carbon fibre products including prepreg, a fibre sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin as an intermediate material for composites. TCV initially will produce carbon fibre materials for sports and outdoor activities, including fishing, golf, bicycle and ice hockey goods, for markets in Southeast and South Asia and Asia-Pacific. Sales will be handled by TCV as well as carbon　fiber sales affiliates of Teijin operating in these markets.

TCV, Teijin’s carbon fibre business base in Vietnam, was established in May 2019 to manufacture carbon fibre products, aiming to capitalise on the expanding demand for carbon fibre while strengthening Teijin’s global business capabilities.

Teijin’s sales affiliates in Singapore, Shanghai and Taipei work to identify demand opportunities as well as provide customer services in Asia. Internal collaborations between these companies and TCV will strengthen Teijin’s presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of Asia’s fast-growing markets.

Increasingly strict environmental measures and the upgrading of environmental frameworks, such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, are expected to stimulate greater use of lightweight and highly rigid carbon fibre. Demands are growing in Asia, especially in the fields of sports and outdoor activities, industry and aerospace. Covid-19, for example, has led to new trends in sports and　outdoor activities, such as renewed interest in fishing due its compatibility with social-distancing protocols.

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