Arkema SA Expands TPE & Polyamide Capacity in Asia-Pacific and North America

United States: Arkema SA has announced plans to increase its manufacturing capabilities of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) at its plant located in Birdsboro. The company would manufacture TPE products under the brand Pebax. The company is also expanding the production of polyamide at its plant located in Zhangjiagang, China under the brand Rilsan. The overall cost of both the expansion project is expected to be around USD7 million. Both these plants are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2016. Also these expansion projects are expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2017. On completion of the expansion project, the site in Birdsboro would manufacture around 4,000 tons of TPE while the manufacturing capacity of polyamide in Zhangjiagang plant would add up to 5,000 kilotons upon the completion of the expansion project in China.

TechSci Research depicts that this expansion will help Arkema SA in targeting customers in fast growing markets such as consumer electronics, construction, medical devices, sports and automotive. Additionally, expansion of TPE and polyamide products in the US and China would benefit the customers in India as the US and China are leading source countries for import of these product categories to India.

According to the recently published report by TechSci Research, “India Thermoplastic Elastomers Market By Type, By End Use Application, By Leading State, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011-2025”, the Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE) market in India is projected to $900 Million by 2025. TPE is being widely adopted as an environment friendly substitute for Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) polymers. Over the last few years, increasing consumption across various applications such as automotive, consumer durables, industrial, medical, footwear, etc., has been instrumental boosting demand for thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) in India.