DowDuPont Boosts Production of Zytel HTN in Belgium

Global demand for high-performance engineering nylon resins continues to exhibit very strong growth, a trend fueled by the increasing use of these resins in the automotive, consumer and electronics markets.

Earlier this year, Ascend Performance Materials and BASF SE both announced capacity expansions. Nov. 9 came the announcement from DowDuPont Inc. that transportation & advanced polymers, a business segment of the DowDuPont specialty products division, was increasing production capacity of its Zytel HTN high-performance nylon in Mechelen, Belgium. The investment follows on the heels of recent investments in Germany and China.

Zytel HTN grades are part of the Zytel HTN high-performance nylon resin portfolio and offer attributes such as outstanding chemical resistance, retention of properties when exposed to moisture and performance at high temperatures.

Transportation & advanced polymers owns and operates world-scale polymerization and compounding assets at sites around the world to ensure responsive local supply. At Michelen, a new production line is being installed that is scheduled to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The investment, said Rudy van Engen, regional director for the DowDuPont transportation group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, reinforces the company's commitment to meet the growing needs of customers in EMEA.

“We continue to invest in our compounding capacity across regions to ensure we can meet the strong growth in demand for highly engineered specialty polymers such as PPAs,” said Richard Mayo, global business director for DowDuPont transportation & advanced polymers.”