Arkema to produce polyamide 12 in China mid-2020; expands global capacities

Arkema is increasing by 25% its capacity of polyamide 12 polymers, commercialised under the trademark Rilsamid. This new capacity will be added at Arkema’s Changshu platform in China and is expected to come on stream by mid-2020. With this latest investment plan, Arkema continues to reinforce its specialty polyamide business in all three major global regions – Europe, North America and now Asia.

This investment which represents several tens of millions of euros, will support the strong demand in growth applications such as cable protection, lightweighting (metal replacement) in automobiles, improved high performance sports shoes (running, soccer, etc.) and evolving applications in the consumer electronics segment. The mid-term growth rates in these applications are expected to exceed 7% per year in Asia.

With this latest project, the specialty polyamides business will continue to bolster its industrial, commercial and R&D presence in Asia, and confirms its commitment to supply its global customers locally.

“This project announcement is the latest of several major investments in specialty polyamides in Asia to support the momentum of our advanced materials offer in the region” said Julie Zhang, Regional President of Arkema’s Technical Polymers business in Asia. “It’s energising for our customers to see how quickly we are evolving into a local sourcing supplier, into a world-class manufacturing presence in Asia with R&D and service to match.”

She added that the project is complementary to the company’s recent project announcement in the bio-based polyamide 11 chain (monomer and polymer) and is consistent with the Group’s strategy to significantly step up the development of its advanced materials, which should eventually account for over 25% of sales by 2023, while continuing to further consolidate its presence in Asia.

Arkema has reported annual sales of EUR7.5 billion in 2016, and operates in close to 50 countries.

Subscribe to Get the Latest Updates from PRA  Please click here