thyssenkrupp (Essen, Germany) today inaugurated its technology center for the oleochemical industry in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, to deliver world-class engineering solutions to global customers. Representing an investment of more than €18 million (~THB680 million), Map Ta Phut will become thyssenkrupp’s global oleochemical competence center for R&D, engineering, project execution and technology development services.
Dr. Peter Feldhaus, CEO of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com), says: “Thailand is a key market for us in Asia and we are proud of our long heritage here. The investment in the Oleochemicals competence center shows our strong commitment to strengthen the country’s position as one of our global engineering hubs.”
The Map Ta Phut facility provides the full value chain on site, from state-of-the-art engineering and EPC execution capabilities to laboratories and pilot plant facilities that guarantee process performance, and for product development hosting Singapore-based Inventa’s production technologies for alkoxylation, esterification and amination that thyssenkrupp acquired in 2015.
The company recently shipped a large modular plant to Oxiteno, a Brazilian chemical multinational manufacturer. It has been fully engineered, and assembled in Thailand, and after final inspection dismantled for the transport, it is now on its way to the end customer in the United States. The reactor was built using the innovative Jet Reactor system which offers superior performance with better process automation and control, lower residual alkylene oxide levels, and faster reaction cycle times when compared with conventional stirred reactor designs.
Brian Cameron, CEO of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions Thailand, notes, “Our technologies, with the Jet Reactor at the heart of the process, provide customers the flexibility to produce a broad variety of these specialty chemicals with the same equipment and with improved cycle times. We can deliver more competitively from Thailand to most global sites thanks to our modular “Lego-like” approach which provides improved safety, predictable delivery times and reduced capital cost, enabling our customers to come to market sooner.”
Dr. Peter Feldhaus continues: ”It is exciting to see how our local team in Map Ta Phut just recently completed a world-scale project. This is a demonstration of the high quality that can be produced in Thailand and proves that Thai engineering is truly globally competitive.”
Oleochemicals are essential for cosmetics, food, health supplements and pharmaceuticals as well as for applications in the oilfield, metal and agrochemicals industries. Major drivers for these investments into Olechemicals are the projection of strong population growth particularly in Asia, as well as the increasing focus on environmentally friendly solutions in developed countries. The estimated market growth rate for the oleochemical industry in Asia Pacific is 8.5%, compared to an expected global annual market growth rate of about 6% (source: Market & Market report, 2014). The current worldwide production capacity in these fields is estimated at 9 million ton/yr.
In Thailand, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions has a successful track record. More than 100 contracts for major clients in Thailand and South-East Asia have been completed, including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) projects as well as lifecycle services. Key projects in Thailand include Petrochemical Plants in Rayong, Mining Equipment in Mae Moh and four large Cement Plants in Saraburi. Today, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions operates offices in Bangkok and Map Ta Phut and employs over 250 engineers.