Lubrizol Increases North American Dispersant Capacity

As part of its growth strategy, Lubrizol is expanding operations at its Avon Lake, Ohio manufacturing facility to double production capacity for Solsperse hyperdispersants. Solsperse hyperdispersants are commonly used by coatings and ink formulators to provide excellent pigment dispersant performance and for a variety of other applications.

The facility first opened in 2014, and over the past decade Lubrizol has steadily expanded Solsperse hyperdispersant production capacity and increased the number of products that can be sourced from the facility. This latest investment will enable Lubrizol to support its global growth trajectory for dispersants and provide additional capacity expansion opportunities in the future, some of which are already planned for 2025.

"Increasing production of Avon Lake Solsperse hyperdispersants allows us to better serve our North American customers and reduce supply chain complexity," said Luis Carthery Sr., director of Lubrizol Performance Coatings. "Manufacturing in North America to meet North American customer needs improves response time and reduces transportation requirements, improving sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint associated with interregional transportation."

This investment demonstrates Lubrizol's continued commitment to the North American coatings market while also helping to ensure that products manufactured in other regions are readily available to customers in those regions. Earlier this year, the company announced an investment in Gastonia, North Carolina, to increase production capacity for its acrylic emulsion technology as part of its growth strategy.

"Many areas of the coatings industry continue to grow rapidly," noted Marco Fay, vice president of Lubrizol Performance Coatings. "Our investment reinforces our commitment to our customers as a progressive partner they can trust to make new coatings innovations a reality. From 100% active dispersants to water-based, bio-infused dispersants to high-performance additives for industrial and protective coatings, Lubrizol helps our customers achieve their sustainability initiatives and growth goals."

Solsperse hyperdispersants combine polymer stabilizing chains with anchoring groups optimized to produce sterically stabilized dispersions with high solids content, low viscosity, and excellent viscosity and particle size stability.