Rhodia to idle Valence polyamide plant in Dec

20 November 2008 17:03  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Rhodia said it would close its polyamide fibres plant at Valence, France on 10 December in response to poor demand, with the closure likely to last until 5 January.

Rhodia’s two other polyamide business plants in France, at Chalampé and Lyons Belle Etoile, are being run at reduced operating rates, a spokeswoman confirmed.

The Valence plant produces polyamide textile fibres for carpets, upholstery and automobile interiors. Polyamide intermediates are produced at Chalampé and engineering plastics at Lyon Belle Etoile.

The polyamide business has been one of the hardest hit by the steep downturn in automobile production with producers of fibres, plastics and polyamide raw materials worldwide forced to cut back production.

Cylcohexane and other polyamide raw material operating rates have been significantly reduced.

DSM, for example, said on Wednesday that it had closed a caprolactam plant at Geleen in the Netherlands in late October. BASF said on Tuesday that it had cut back production of polyamide and caprolactam in Europe and the US.

Rhodia is a major polyamide intermediates producer and one of the world’s leading nylon 6, 6 producers. It has polyamide plants in France, Poland and Spain, in Asia and in Brazil.

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By: Nigel Davis
+44 20 8652 3214

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