Celanese Increases Fortron® PPS Production at Wilmington, N.C., Plant to Meet Global Demand
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Production increases support customer demand for innovative specialty materials
Florence, Ky., Kelsterbach, Germany, Shanghai, PR China, Aug. 12, 2010 - Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a leading global technology and specialty materials company, today announced that one of its strategic affiliates, Fortron Industries LLC, will increase production at its Wilmington, N.C., plant to meet an increased global demand for Fortron® polyphenylene sulfide (PPS).
The Fortron Industries plant in Wilmington is the world's largest linear PPS operation with a 15,000 metric ton annual capacity. Fortron's operation in Wilmington is a joint venture of Kureha Corporation and Ticona Engineering Polymers, a wholly owned subsidiary of Celanese.
There is a growing worldwide demand for Fortron PPS, a high-performance polymer used in demanding industrial applications. This specialty material offers excellent chemical and thermal resistance, high hardness, rigidity and dimensional stability, and low creep and moisture absorption. Fortron PPS is often used instead of metals and thermosets in such applications such as auto pumps, valves, air ducts and powertrains; electronic connectors, plugs, switches and circuit boards; structural and non-structural aircraft components; and heater grilles, impellers, conveyors, power tools, microwave elements and other industrial uses.
"Fortron is ramping up production and adding new staff at our Wilmington plant to meet the anticipated demand of our global customers by the end of the third quarter," said Thomas Petzel, global business line director - Ticona High Performance Polymers. "We believe Fortron has the leading technology used in the production of linear polymer applications, and this technology advantage can provide customers with a competitive position when manufacturing new applications or redesigning existing components."
"Fortron PPS is locally produced in Wilmington and shipped around the world," said Gard Gershmel, site leader for the Fortron PPS plant. "We take great pride in knowing our high-performance polymer is used in new applications on most automotive OEM platforms as well as advanced, lightweight composite components used by aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing."
Fortron Industries uses PPS production technology that incorporates Kureha's advanced environmentally friendly "one unit" process as well as Celanese's sales, marketing, distribution, compounding and polymer manufacturing expertise.
About Kureha Corporation
Kureha Corporation is a major diversified manufacturer of chemical products listed on the Tokyo and Osaka Stock exchanges (TSE code 4023). It manufactures chemicals and plastics in Japan, China, The Netherlands, and through the Fortron Industries joint venture in the United States. Established in 1944, it now employs about 4,101 people and had sales of 1,346 billion yen in fiscal 2009. For more information, see http://www.kureha.co.jp/.
About Ticona
Ticona, the engineering polymers business of Celanese Corporation, produces and markets a broad range of high performance products, and posted net sales of $808 million in fiscal 2009. Ticona employs more than 1,450 individuals at production, compounding and research facilities in the USA, Germany, Brazil and China. For more information, please visit www.ticona.com or www.ticona.cn (Chinese language).
About Celanese
Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of specialty materials and chemical products which are used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our products, essential to everyday living, are manufactured in North America, Europe and Asia. Known for operational excellence, sustainability and premier safety performance, Celanese delivers value to customers around the globe with best-in-class technologies. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2009 net sales of $5.1 billion, with approximately 73% generated outside of North America. For more information about Celanese Corporation and its global product offerings, visit www.celanese.com.
Contacts:
Americas:
David Perilstein, Press Relations
+1-518-479-7632
Dperilst@nycap.rr.com
Americas:
Robert Shaw, Manager, B2B Marketing Communications
+1-859-372-3117
Robert.Shaw@Ticona.com
Europe:
Henning Küll, Public Relations Manager
+49-6107-772-1797
Henning.Kuell@Ticona.de
Asia:
Amber Zhao, Marketing Communications
+86-21-3861-9222
tong.zhao@ticona.com
