BP boosts sulfone polymers at 2 US sites headed to Solvay

06 September 2001 21:08  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (CNI)--BP said Thursday construction is under way to boost sulfone polymers production by 40% in Marietta, Ohio and by 15% at Augusta, Georgia - two plants scheduled for transfer to Belgium's Solvay through its 6 August acquisition of BP's engineering polymers business.

BP said the expansions should be completed in the fourth quarter and noted also that it hopes to finalise its deal with Solvay "shortly, subject to regulatory approval."

BP declined to provide capacity or cost figures for the expansion projects and could not immediately say if they involve all new construction or a combination with debottlenecking.

A company representative told CNI the staffs at the plants will become Solvay employees once the business exchange is final.

In a statement, BP said the Marietta project will boost that plant's capacity for Radel R polyphenylsulfone and Radel A polyethersulfone while the Augusta expansion boosts production of sulfone monomer.

It quoted George Corbin, global business manager for the sulfone polymers business, as saying: "These expansions will better position us to support growth of our customers and also provide us greater opportunity to explore and develop new markets an applications."

BP describes its sulfone polymers as high performance, amorphous engineering thermoplastics used in a variety of demanding applications that require high end-use temperatures with excellent chemical resistance. Industrial uses include aerospace, medical, business machines, plumbing, automotive, electronics, fibre optics and food contact applications, according to UK-based BP.

By: Gary Taylor
+1 713 525 2653

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