DSM inaugurates Akulon PA6 polymer plant in China

Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, announces the inauguration of its new polymer plant in Jiangyin (Jiangsu province, China).

The plant produces high viscosity grades of Akulon polyamide 6 (PA6) aimed at the fast growing high end food packaging market in Asia. Construction of the plant, which was announced in September 2006, involved several tens of millions of USD.

Mr. Zhu Min Yang, Secretary to the Communist Party Committee of Jiangyin City, as well as other government officials and guests, attended the ceremony along with Jos Goessens, President of DSM Engineering Plastics, Jiang Wei Ming, President of DSM China, and other senior members of DSM Engineering Plastics Asia Pacific.

China is very important in DSM’s strategy Vision 2010 – Building on Strengths. It is one of the key growth countries where significant investments are being made and in 2007 DSM raised its sales target for China in 2010 from USD 1.0 billion to USD 1.5 billion. This first Akulon PA6 polymerization plant for DSM in China significantly supports the increasing demand for polyamide 6 in the region, and also contributes to the development of the fast growing food packaging industry in China and Asia-Pacific.

Jiangyin has been the main production site for DSM Engineering Plastics in Asia for the past ten years. As demand from customers in both China and the rest of Asia has grown rapidly in recent years, DSM announced in November 2007 to expand the engineering plastics compounding capacity by 50%. This increase is to be operational towards the end of 2008. DSM also operates a Regional Development & Support Center at the Jiangyin site.

The new plant for Akulon PA6 uses leading technology and is equipped with best-in-class safety, health and environment compliance systems. The facility design allows for additional capacity expansion to accommodate further growth in demand in the future. This new polymer facility makes DSM the only company to produce the entire PA6 chain, including caprolactam, polymer and compounded products in China.

Roelof Westerbeek, President of DSM Engineering Plastics Asia Pacific, said: “This polymerization plant shows our commitment to China. It brings global technology to the country and offers service levels in China that are expected by our customers. This plant reaffirms our strong confidence in China and it helps achieve DSM’s ambitious growth targets in this country.”

Jos Goessens, President of DSM Engineering Plastics, added: “Jiangyin has provided us with highly educated, motivated and talented people, as well as its long history as an industrial base and logistic centre including the support of the local government agencies. The depth of talent in this area has been shown by the exemplary way that the project has been executed, with a highly commendable safety record, and good plant start up. We are very confident that DSM will continue to grow in the Yangzi Delta region and all of China, as a key supplier to producers of high value added products in food packaging and molded products industries.”

Akulon Polyamide 6 (PA6) is a thermoplastic with outstanding mechanical properties over a wide temperature range used in various every day applications such as automotive, luggage, sports, electronics, packaging films, lighting and furniture. Caprolactam, produced by DSM Polymer Intermediates, is the raw material for PA6, which gives DSM a unique position as an integrated producer of the material. As a replacement of metal in various applications, Akulon PA6 can offer weight reduction to for instance the automotive industry, resulting in fewer CO2-emissions.

DSM Engineering Plastics
DSM Engineering Plastics is a Business Group in the Performance Materials cluster of DSM, with sales in 2007 of EUR 839 million and approximately 1,550 employees worldwide. It is one of the world's leading suppliers of engineering thermoplastics offering a broad portfolio of high performance products including Stanyl high performance polyamide and Akulon 6 and 66 polyamides, Arnitel TPE-E, Arnite PBT and PET polyesters, Xantar polycarbonate, Yparex extrudable adhesive resins. These materials are used in technical components for electrical appliances, electronic equipment and cars, in barrier packaging films as well as in many mechanical and extrusion applications. With Stanyl, it is the global market leader in high heat polyamides.