M&G Chemicals (Luxembourg), one of the world's largest producers of PET for packaging applications, is set to increase the capacity of its Corpus Christi, TX, facility by over 100 kMT of integrated PET, reaching the total amount of at least 1,100 kMT of PET. PTA capacity will also be increased by the corresponding amount. The original capacity plan announced for Corpus Christi was 1,000 kMT of PET and 1,200 kMT of PTA. The Corpus Christi plant is expected to begin production in 2016 and will be the largest vertically integrated single line in the world and the largest PTA plant in the Americas.

Marco Ghisolfi, M&G Chemicals CEO, said “We strongly believe in our Corpus Christi project, which is the most advanced ever in this industry. We decided to increase our investment in order to make it even more efficient. Most of the increased capacity has already been committed in the market. A portion of the capacity will also be used to displace our current imports from Mexico.”

This is not the first time that an M&G Chemicals facility exceeds its planned capacity. It already happened in Altamira, Mexico, and Suape, Brazil, where the current capacity increased well in excess of 30% versus the initial design capacity.

“Our proprietary technology,” added Ghisolfi, “is very reliable and powerful, and it allows us to reach unprecedented targets”.

The facility is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in second half of 2016. The PET part of the facility is on schedule while a couple of suppliers of critical equipment to PTA are experiencing some delays, which are currently being analyzed and consequences assessed. M&G is working on back-up plans to ensure no impact on PET start-up.

M&G Chemicals employs more than 900 employees in 14 locations in six countries around the world. In 2015 M&G Chemicals posted an annual revenue of $2 billion.