Invista (Wichita, Kan.; www.invista.com) broke ground on new hexamethylene diamine (HMD) and nylon 6,6 polymer plants at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in China. These facilities mark a key milestone in Invista’s plans for integrated nylon 6,6 facilities in the China market and underscore the company’s commitment to the region. More than 300 people attended the ceremony, including senior government officials from SCIP, the Jinshan government and related authorities, local customers, Invista leadership and employees.
The 215,000-ton HMD plant and the 150,000-ton polymer plant are expected to start up in 2015. Invista has already received several government permits; most recently, the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau granted Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval for the polymer facility.
In addition to the HMD and polymer plants, INVISTA has plans for a future, 300,000-ton adiponitrile (ADN) facility. The overall investment in these plants will exceed $1 billion, which will be the largest capital investment undertaken by Invista to date.
HMD, ADN and nylon 6,6 polymer are materials used in the production of nylon 6,6 fibers and polymers that ultimately become part of air bags, automobile parts, carpet, workout apparel, outdoor equipment and more.