Invista starts work on China polyamide project

Invista (Wichita, KS) has started construction of a 150,000-tonnes/year polyamide (PA) 66 plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in China. The company is also constructing a  hexamethylene diamine (HMD) monomer plant there. The polymer and monomer plants are expected to start up in 2015.

The PA market in China is forecast to grow to around 1.3 million tonnes by 2017, with PA 66 accounting for approximately 450,000 tonnes. PA 66 is used in engineering polymer applications in automotive electrical, industrial and consumer markets, as well as fiber applications such as apparel and industrial textiles.

"China is one of the most important regions for our growth strategy," said Jeff Gentry, Invista's chairman and chief executive officer at the groundbreaking ceremony. "We have seen significant growth in the region in recent years, and we plan to continue to bring our latest innovative technologies here."

In addition to the HMD and polymer plants, Invista has plans for a future, 300,000-ton adiponitrile (ADN) facility. Once completed, Invista's new facilities will be among the most energy-efficient nylon intermediates sites in the world and will employ Invista's most advanced technologies for ADN, HMD and polymer production. The overall investment in these plants will exceed $1 billion, which will be the largest capital investment undertaken by Invista to date.

Warren Primeaux, president of Invista Intermediates, said, "We believe that China is driving global nylon demand growth, and the use of nylon 6,6 intermediates and polymer in the region will be increasing. The new facilities will enable Invista to provide customers with better service, shorter lead time and a local resource for production. We are excited to continue supporting the increasing regional demand for durable goods-products that can be enhanced by the use of nylon 6,6."