Invista to Resume Production of Key Chemicals at U.S. Plant, Causing Market Ripples

On October 23, 2024, Invista announced an important decision to continue production of hexanediamine (HMD) at its facility in Orange, Texas, USA. The decision marks a major shift in Invista's business strategy.

In October last year, Invista announced the difficult decision to shut down the adiponitrile and Hexamethylene diamine plant in Orange. The decision was based on lower than expected growth rates at the time, as well as an increase in global supply. At the time, Invista planned to completely cease operations of its Hdiamine units by mid-2024. Over time, however, things changed.

Invista President and CEO Francis Murphy said in a recent announcement that a variety of circumstances have changed since the announcement last year that adiponitrile (ADN) and adiponediamine operations would cease at the Orange plant. The Orange plant has proven its ability to produce and operate Hexamethylenediamine in a safe, reliable and competitive manner. Invista has therefore decided to continue the production of Hexamethylenediamine in Orange on a long-term basis.

Invista's decision is not an isolated incident. On July 24 this year, Invista also announced the restart of Hexamethylenediamine production at its Maitland plant in Canada. The plant is expected to begin production of Hexamethylene diamine in the first quarter of 2025. It is worth noting that the Hexamethylenediamine operations at the Maitland plant were shut down as early as 2009.

In addition, Invista announced another important development on August 8 this year. The expansion project of Nylon 6,6 polymer production base in Shanghai has been officially completed. At this point, the total production capacity of nylon 66 in the base has reached 400,000 tons/year, which has doubled the production capacity. At the same time, the site also has 470,000 tons/year of adiponitrile production capacity and 316,000 tons/year of adiponitrile production capacity. This series of initiatives shows that Invista is actively adjusting its global business layout to respond to the changing market demand and competitive environment.