Fortron Industries to double PPS plant
Staff -- Purchasing, 9/1/2005 2:00:00 AM
Fortron Industries will double capacity for linear polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) at the Wilmington, N.C., plant to 15,000 metric tons per year. When completed in the first half of 2007, the $65 million expansion will create the world's largest PPS plant. This is the sixth expansion of the plant by co-owners Ticona Technical Polymers and Kureha Chemical Industries since it opened in 1993.
"The capacity we add will help satisfy the growing demand for PPS worldwide in the electrical, electronics, automotive, aerospace, industrial, consumer and other markets," says Fred Daniell, Fortron's president.
Global PPS production now stands at about 40,000 metric tons annually. With annual consumption growing by more than 10%, Fortron expects demand to top 50,000 metric tons/year by 2008. "Our expansion will help ensure adequate PPS supplies are on-hand at that time," says Daniell.
According to Koji Hagino, senior vice president at Kureha, the expanded plant will be highly efficient. "It will leverage the plant infrastructure we have in place in Wilmington, as well as the experienced workforce there. It also will represent a technological step forward in PPS production by incorporating our advanced and environmentally friendly 'one-unit' production process."
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