Solvay Expands, Upgrades Ultra Polymer Production in Panoli

The installation will be built to provide for a natural expansion of production, resulting in a step-wise increase in capacity as warranted by demand.

18/10/06 The Solvay group announces today that it has decided to expand and upgrade its facilities in Panoli (Gujarat State, India), which will result in the creation of a new, world-class production unit for polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and other materials in the ultra-performance segment of the specialty polymers business. The installation will be built to provide for a natural expansion of production, resulting in a step-wise increase in capacity as warranted by demand. It will come on stream in the first quarter of 2008, with a production capacity of 500 metric tons per year of KetaSpire, the new line of PEEK products developed by Solvay Advanced Polymers.

The amount of the investment required for the upgrade and expansion of the site will not be communicated.

The extraordinary mechanical properties, temperature resistance and processability of KetaSpire designate this PEEK product as a lightweight alternative for metal parts in critical aerospace or medical applications, among many other possible uses.

The R&D center and production plant in Panoli were formerly operated by Polymers Division of Gharda Chemicals, which Solvay acquired earlier this year. The successful completion of this acquisition laid the groundwork for Solvay’s entry into the PEEK market. In parallel, the extensive research carried out at Solvay Advanced Polymers’ R&D center in Alpharetta, (Georgia, United States) was finalized and resulted in a fully operational, robust, proprietary product and manufacturing technology for the new line of KetaSpire PEEK materials.

Solvay Adavanced Polymers has begun the production of KetaSpire PEEK, which will initially be based at its semi-commercial plant in Alpharetta, in a progressive rollout which will culminate in the launch of full commercial production in Panoli.

“The expansion of the Panoli plant and the launch of our new KetaSpire PEEK materials are instrumental in our high and ultra-performance polymers strategy,” said Vincenzo Morici, General Manager of the Specialty Polymers Strategic Business Unit, Solvay.

“More importantly, our product range is escalating into the upper, most sophisticated category of the polymer performance pyramid. Solvay Advanced Polymers now produces more plastics with more performance than any other supplier in the world,” added Roger Kearns, CEO of Solvay Advanced Polymers.

“With these expansion and upgrade plans, we are successfully capitalizing on the inherent strengths of Panoli, which contributed outstanding talent to the Group, as well as a prime location at the heart of the world’s fastest-growing economies,” said Vincenzo Morici.