29 September 2014
DETAILS
Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN)
today announced that it has commenced
preliminary engineering to expand production of
methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)
by investment in a new, world scale MDI plant
at its Geismar, Louisiana site, USA.
The 400,000 metric ton expansion
will leverage the significant advantages of the Geismar site,
* with its access to US shale gas,
* strong logistics base and
* excellent integration.
The new capacity is expected to
come on-stream in 2018 and
will enable Huntsman to further
support the growth of its customers worldwide.
MDI capacity at the site is currently undergoing
an expansion to 500ktes, which is due to
come on-stream next year.
Huntsman’s 760 acre Geismar site
is the largest integrated MDI production facility
in the Americas region.
MDI based polyurethanes are used in
an extensive range of applications and markets - including
* construction, automotive, coatings and footwear
- and provide key benefits of energy efficient insulation,
comfort and well-being.
In addition to
* its Geismar facility,
Huntsman Polyurethanes operates world scale
MDI facilities at its sites in
* Rotterdam, Netherlands and
* Shanghai, China.
Anthony P. Hankins,
President of Huntsman Polyurethanes
“Shale gas has significantly improved
the economics of investing in US facilities and
has helped our Geismar facility to
establish a strong cost leadership position.
The planned additional capacity will reinforce
this position and establish the plant as a truly global supplier."
“Demand for MDI-based polyurethanes continues
to grow at around 8% annually.
In order to satisfy this demand, Huntsman Polyurethanes
has a sustained global program of
both upstream and downstream investment
to support our customers’ growth ambitions.”
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
