Plants: Huntsman to close European maleic anhydride plant; Sumitomo Chemical to expand semiconductor chemicals capacity in South Korea

US materials firm Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has completed the strategic review of its European maleic anhydride business. As a result of this review, the company will close its facility located in Moers, Germany.

The closure of the operations at Moers is expected to be complete by the end of the current quarter. In 2024, the European business generated an adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately US$10 million.

Going forward, the company says it intends to serve customers in the European region from its North American facilities located in Pensacola, Florida and Geismar, Louisiana. As a result of the closure of the Moers, Germany facility, Huntsman expects to incur a one-time non-cash asset impairment charge of approximately US$75 million during the second quarter of 2025.

In other news, to improve the quality of semiconductor chemicals and accelerate the development of products, Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical has decided to invest in the construction of a new cleanroom for advanced materials and expand process verification lines at the Iksan Research Laboratory of Dongwoo Fine-Chem Co, a wholly owned subsidiary located in South Korea. The new facilities are scheduled to begin operations sequentially starting in fiscal 2026.

Dongwoo Fine-Chem, which serves as a core subsidiary of the Sumitomo Chemical Group’s ICT-related business, is actively expanding its operations primarily in East Asia and the US. Since its establishment in 1991, the company has built strong partnerships with major ICT enterprises and earned high recognition in the fields of semiconductor-related materials and display materials.

In the semiconductor chemicals business in particular, the company boasts a robust quality assurance system based on ultra-high-purity refinement technologies and advanced analytical technologies and a flexible supply system, and has established itself as a global leading company trusted by advanced semiconductor manufacturers.

As semiconductor manufacturers continue to make large-scale investments, Dongwoo Fine-Chem is striving to further strengthen its production and development systems.

It has expanded capacity at existing plants and secured new factory sites, as well as opened a new R&D centre dedicated to discovering new materials for next-generation semiconductors. This new R&D centre, located in Pangyo Techno Valley near Seoul, began operations in October 2024.

Through this investment, the group says it aims to strengthen its world-leading position in the field of high-purity chemicals in terms of both quality and quantity, while also working to expand its line-up in the functional chemicals field.

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