Fortron Industries Passes Fortron® PPS Production Mark in October as Joint Venture Celebrates 20th Anniversary
230 Million Pounds Produced
Florence, Ky., Sulzbach, Germany, Shanghai, PR China - Fortron Industries, a joint venture of Celanese Corporation and Kureha Corporation of Japan, passed the 230 million pound production mark in October, the month that the world's largest producer of linear polyphenylene (PPS) celebrated its 20th anniversary.
"Since creating Fortron Industries in 1992, Celanese - through its engineering polymers business Ticona - and Kureha have worked with us to invest in technologies aimed to increase output and improve the overall productivity of the PPS manufacturing process," said Fred Samz, president of Fortron Industries, during the 20th anniversary celabration on October 4 in Wilmington, N.C. "With six expansions since the initial start-up, our Wilmington plant today is a global leader in PPS, delivering proven material solutions for the most challenging environments to customers all around the world."
Fortron® PPS, a high-performance engineerging polymer from Ticona Engineering Polymers, is used worldwide in various award-winning applications - the first welded thermoplastic composite aircraft primary structure, thermoplastic modular composite seat back assemblies for aircraft and blow-molded charge air pipes for automotive engines.
Fortron Industries, with nearly 100 employees and contractors who work at the 26-acre campus outside Wilmington, celebrated its 20th anniversary with global business leaders, state and local officials.
"Celanese is proud to be a member of the Fortron family and proud of their success," Doug Madden, chief operating officer, Celanese, said during the celebration. "But Fortron Industries could not have achieved this success without the support of the Greater Wilmington community and, most importantly, the Fortron employees who contribute their hard work and passion every day.We honor you."
Added Koji Hagino, executive vice president, president and cheif executive officer - Kureha America Inc., "I believe there are two parts to the success of the Kureha/Celanese partnership: One, each company recognizes its own strength and expertise - Kureha brings our PPS technology and Ticona brings sales, marketing and manufacturing expertise; and two, people from each company respect each others culture and company mindset."
Fortron has ramped up production and added new staff at its state-of-the-art Wilmington plant, which has a nameplate capacity of 15,000 metric tons per year, to meet a worldwide demand for its high-performance polymer used in the most demanding applications. This specialty material offers excellent chemical and thermal resistance, high hardness, rigidity and dimensional stability, and low creep and moisture absorption.
This semi-crystalline polymer is often used to replace metals and thermosets in various applications:
· Automotive - fuel systems, transmission components, water management, air management and electronics
· Electrical/Electronics - sensors, connectors, plugs, switches, sockets, transformers, bobbins and circuit boards
· Aerospace - structural and non-structural aircraft composite components
· Fluid Handing - enhanced oil and gas recovery, pumps and valves, and potable water valves and fittings
· Industrial / Consumer - appliances, HVAC, technical fibers and fabrics for filtration and conveyor system components
"Our anniversary event was a good time to stop and reflect on 20 years for Fortron Industries. We were very fortunate to have leaders from Celanese and Kureha, along with local officials, take the time to recognize our success," said Samz. "I want to thank all of the employees that work on behalf of Fortron Industries every day, and especially want to recognize everyone here in Wilmington. The operators, maintenance mechanics, engineers and other staff have all worked very hard to make Fortron what it is today."
About Celanese and Ticona
Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of specialty materials and chemical products that 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 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2011 net sales of $6.8 billion, with approximately 73% generated outside of North America. For more information about Celanese Corporation and its global product offerings, visit www.celanese.com or the company's blog at www.celaneseblog.com.
Ticona, the engineering polymers business of Celanese Corporation, produces and markets a broad range of high performance products, and posted net sales of $1,298 million in fiscal 2011. Ticona employs more than 1,500 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 Kureha Corporation
Kureha Corporation is a leading diversified chemical products manufacturer that has applied its technological development expertise to create original products in fields including advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and packaging materials. To support its mission of "the pursuit of excellence", the Company operates on the principles of its corporate identity: we treasure people and the environment, we constantly evolve through innovation, and we contribute to society by developing beneficial products. Kureha Corporation is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE code 4023) and has manufacturing locations in Japan, China, Vietnam, the Netherlands and the United States. Established in 1944, it now employs approximately 4,000 people and had sales of 128 billion yen ($1,562 million) in fiscal 2012. For more information, see www.kureha.co.jp.
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
+49-69-45009-1797
Henning.Kuell@Ticona.de
Asia:
Amber Zhao, Marketing Communications
+86-21-3861-9222
tong.zhao@ticona.com
