Evonik constructs production plant for specialty copolyester

Evonik Industries is building a production plant for specialty copolyesters, at its Witten site, in Germany, scheduled for completion in 2018.

The investment will create around 10 jobs in Witten, where the group currently has about 250 employees.

Specialty copolyesters are used in coil coatings and, increasingly, in food can coatings.

The company says it is investing a mid-double-digit million euro sum in the plant, which will have annual production capacity of several thousand metric tons.

"We continue to expand our polyester platform strengthening our position as an innovative supplier of materials for high-quality metal coatings in an attractive growth market," said Dr. Ralph Sven Kaufmann, COO, Evonik.

One driver in this market is the trend towards epoxy resin-free can coatings that do not contain bisphenol A.