INVISTA (Wichita, Kan.) announced that INVISTA Nylon Chemicals (China) Co. has completed the expansion of its nylon 6,6 polymer site at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). The site expansion, at a total investment of 1.75 billion RMB ($240 million), has doubled the annual capacity of nylon 6,6 polymer to 400,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) and will be a critical part of maximizing the value of INVISTA’s integrated nylon 6,6 value chain to meet growing demand for high-quality products. It will also provide additional stable local supply and faster market response to facilitate the growth potential of downstream applications.
The event was attended by Ruan Li, director general of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Administrative Committee; Pang Guanglian, executive board member, vice secretary general, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation; and other officials from related Shanghai Municipal Government agencies and representatives of SCIP. INVISTA senior executives included Nancy Kowalski, executive vice president, Upstream Nylon Global, INVISTA; Brook Vickery, sr. vice president, Global Operations, INVISTA; Gary Knight, chairman of INVISTA Nylon Chemicals (China); and Kyle Redinger, vice president, Upstream Nylon Asia Pacific, INVISTA.
“INVISTA has been playing a leading role and cooperating with SCIP, as SCIP is developing an advanced and competitive nylon industry base,” said Ruan Li, director general of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Administrative Committee.
“INVISTA, as a global leader in the field of nylon, has always stood at the forefront of technological innovation and the market, leading the trend of industry development. The doubling of INVISTA’s nylon 6,6 production capacity in Shanghai is not only a strong response to current market demand but also a precise grasp of future development trends,” said Pang Guanglian, executive board member, vice secretary general, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.
“INVISTA sees the great potential for China to become the center for the world’s nylon 6,6 demand,” said Nancy Kowalski, executive vice president, Upstream Nylon Global, INVISTA. “The expansion of our production site represents a crucial milestone in how we serve our customers in China and across the globe. It will support INVISTA co-developing cutting-edge solutions in engineering plastics, textile and industrial fibers with our partners, and also support industry advancements on a global scale in automotive, electrical and electronics, as well as consumer products.”
Located in SCIP, the expanded polymer site is fully integrated with existing INVISTA facilities, connecting upstream adiponitrile (ADN) and hexamethylene diamine (HMD) facilities and empowering R&D through INVISTA’s Asia Innovation Center. The site deploys INVISTA’s nylon 6,6 polymerization technology, which uses an aqueous solution method to prepare nylon 6,6 salts without using chemical solvents. This polymerization technology simplifies the production process, enhances safety and environmental performance, and is more energy efficient than alternative technologies.
The project’s construction phase used a modular construction approach to reduce the impact on ongoing production and enable smooth business operations while accelerating the expansion project process. Sixty-three modules were built in the module yard and transferred to the INVISTA site. By pre-building, the construction process also successfully reduced the number of workers onsite and also reduced risk to safety or quality, achieving a cumulative 5 million safe working hours without a lost time injury.
Brook Vickery, sr. vice president, Global Operations, INVISTA, said, “We are grateful for the support received throughout the construction of the project. At this site, we will continue to innovate in production technologies and operations to improve our resources and energy efficiency and produce high-quality nylon 6,6 products, thereby creating value for our customers and the local chemical industry.”
INVISTA’s nylon 6,6 polymer, which offers comprehensive performance benefits including excellent resistance to heat, hydrolysis, and abrasion, can replace metal for the production of high-strength, corrosion-resistant, low-density parts. This material can also be used to make popular consumer products such as functional apparel and outdoor equipment, whose demand is rising, commensurate with improving living standards.