INEOS Styrolution, (Frankfurt, Germany; www.ineos-styrolution.com) has revealed plans to expand the company’s plant in Altamira, Mexico responding to growing demand in the Americas region. The copolymer plant produces a variety of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) solutions. The expansion will also allow customers to benefit from increased flexibility adapting production to customer demand.
INEOS Styrolution observes a growing demand for ABS and ASA based solutions in particular in the automotive, the construction, the household and the toys, sports and leisure market segments. This increased demand is in line with market researchers’ observations of key segments like automotive and construction, which show a positive growth development.
The capacity expansion of 20,000 metric tons (m.t.) will grow INEOS Styrolution’s overall copolymer production capacity in Altamira to 180,000 m.t./yr. This increase will not only be the result of a debottlenecking of the Altamira copolymer plant, it will also lead to a reduction of imports from other regions that were needed to support growth in the Americas region. These import volumes will then be freed up for business growth in other regions. Startup is expected by the first quarter of 2018.
Ricardo Cuetos, VP Americas, Standard Products, comments: “The capacity expansion will allow us to grow together with our customers and provide a service level according to their expectations in this dynamic market.”
“This investment is in line with our Triple Shift growth strategy,” adds Alexander Glueck, President Americas. “Our investment is at the intersection of all three aspects of our strategy: Focus on growing markets, growing industries and on innovative products for our customers to stay competitive in their respective markets.”