US-based materials firm Invista, a world leader in nylon intermediates, polymers and fibres, has signed a Land Reservation Agreement with the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Development Company for a nylon 6,6 polymer site at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). The agreement is for additional land adjacent to INVISTA’s planned hexamethylene diamine (HMD) and adiponitrile (ADN) plants and marks Invista’s next step as it continues to make progress on plans for an integrated nylon 6,6 polymer facility in China.

“It is our intent to build a world-scale polymer facility in a timeframe that would align with our HMD project,” said Warren Primeaux, president of Invista Intermediates. "We believe China's continued strong GDP growth will drive increasing demand for durable goods—products that can be enhanced by the use of nylon 6,6."

Invista's nylon 6,6 products are used in fibre applications such as apparel and industrial textiles, as well as in engineering polymer applications in automotive electrical, industrial and consumer markets. Known for its strength at high temperature as well as impact, chemical and abrasion resistance, nylon 6,6 offers significant advantages in many applications over other materials that have been traditionally used in China.

Invista has taken a keen focus on China as one of the most important places for growing its proprietary nylon technology. The company's plan for an integrated asset exceeds US$1 billion, the largest capital investment undertaken by the firm to date. Earlier this year, Invista announced it had received Environmental Impact Assessment approval from the Shanghai Protection Bureau for a 215,000-tonne/year HMD plant at SCIP, to be operational by mid-2015.