In response to increased demand for its EVAL resins, Kuraray Europe is to expand the production capacity of its Belgium-based plants, a move which is set to double its production output through the construction of new facilities.
The installations are scheduled to start production in Autumn 2004.
EVAL is a high-performance resin commercialised by Kuraray in1972, making it the first such in the world. EVAL is said to exhibit superior gas-barrier properties compared with other synthetic resins. This makes it an ideal material for food containers and packaging.
The market for EVAL in Japan, the US and Europe is currently expanding at over 10 per cent per year.
The Kuraray Group has a total global annual production capacity of45,000 tons of EVAL, divided among its three production bases in Japan (the Okayama Plant), the United States (Eval Company of America, Texas) and Europe (EVAL Europe, Belgium). However, current production capacity is soon expected to become insufficient, in view of steadily rising demand.
The new production facilities will be designed to handle variousdifferent types of EVAL product, and will employ a new process that ismore environmentally friendly. They will feature sharply reducedemissions of VOC (volatile organic compounds) and emissions of BOD(biological oxygen demand) substances into waste water.
Currently, the Antwerp production facility produces 12,000 tons of resin, but with the extensions capacity is expected to double to 24,000 tons a year, at a total cost of €65 million.