Expansions: Alpla to set up injection moulding facility in US; Lummus/Clariant Catalysts expand footprint with India’s first PDH plant

Austrian packaging manufacturer Alpla Group says that it has selected the Kansas City, US, for its new 23,000-sq-m manufacturing plant. In a facility located at the Blue River Commerce Center in Kansas City, Missouri, the regional organisation Alpla will create 75 jobs while continuing to invest in the city over the next several years.

The new addition in Kansas City will be Alpla’s fourth site in Missouri and the first dedicated to injection moulding. As such, it will utilise technologies to produce innovative packaging systems, bottles, caps and injection-moulded parts for a wide range of industries. The project is slated to begin in late 2021, with a completion date in the fourth quarter of 2022.

‘We are excited about our new Kansas City site, which represents a key element of our growth strategy and our continued commitment to the expansion of our injection-moulding capabilities,’ stated James Rooney, Managing Director, Alpla North America. As one of the global leaders in packaging solutions, the site will enhance Alpla’s scope of innovation and facilitate the demand of recent business.

The company cited the Kansas City region’s central location and strong community relationships as key drivers for the decision.

Alpla operates its own recycling plants for PET and HDPE in Austria, Poland, Mexico, Italy and Spain, and in the form of joint ventures in Mexico and Germany. Other projects are being realised elsewhere around the world.

In other news, Lummus Technology, and its catalysts partner, Clariant Catalysts, have secured another major contract award in India that will expand their global share of the PDH market. GAIL (India) Limited has selected Lummus Technology’s Catofin process and Clariant’s tailor-made catalysts for India’s first PDH plant. Its upcoming 500 kilotonne/year propane dehydrogenation facility in Usar, Maharashtra, will be integrated with a downstream polypropylene (PP) unit. The US$1.2 billion PDH-PP project is expected to start operations by 2024.

“Getting the first PDH award in India is very exciting, considering the anticipated growth of the petrochemicals market here. This award displays the innovative strength of the partnership between Lummus and Clariant,” said Leon de Bruyn, President/CEO of Lummus Technology. “Lummus is grateful to GAIL for getting selected and is committed to providing best-in-class PDH technology that offers a reliable, optimised and low-carbon route to propylene.”

“We are extremely proud of the ever-increasing global demand for Catofin – and we couldn’t have achieved this without our long-time partner, Lummus Technology,” said Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President/General Manager of Clariant Catalysts. “Thanks to our collaboration, we are able to offer GAIL (India) excellent performance and profitability by combining the best of PDH expertise with catalyst innovation.”

Since 2017, Catofin Technology has been selected for a majority of new PDH awards globally, representing 32 new PDH plants, or more than 22 million tonnes/year of propylene.

GAIL India is the country’s largest natural gas company, and one of seven Maharatna Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the Government of India. Founded in 1984, the Delhi-based company operates in India and abroad in various segments such as transmission services, natural gas marketing, petrochemicals, liquefied petroleum gas and other hydrocarbons of liquid.

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