French chemical producer, Arkema, announces the construction of a polyamide 11 powders plant on its Changshu platform in China, which will come on stream in the first quarter of 2023, in line with its large project in Singapore to boost the worldwide capacity of bio-based polyamide 11 by 50%. This investment will help meet Asia's increasing demand for sophisticated bio-circular materials.

Rilsan® polyamide 11 powders are known for their exceptional qualities and performance in terms of toughness, durability, lightweight, and processing adaptability, and are currently produced entirely from renewable castor beans in France. They are employed in extremely demanding applications and provide novel solutions for fast-growing markets such as durable household appliances, energy-efficient transportation, and advanced additive manufacturing (3D printing), primarily for consumer, industrial, and aerospace markets.

This project will also contribute to Arkema's ambitious sustainability commitments by using extremely efficient manufacturing procedures and being physically closer to the new amino 11 factory in Singapore, in addition to the powder's bio-based composition.

Erwoan Pezron, senior vice president of High Performance Polymers, said that they’re quite delighted about this expansion. All of their core powdered markets in Asia are experiencing strong and growing demand, and this additional capacity will allow them to supply the region from within the region.

This expansion goes hand in hand with the Group’s major polyamide 11 plant in Singapore, which is scheduled to begin production in mid-2022 and is part of a 450-million-euro exceptional capital expenditure envelope dedicated to polyamide expansion in Asia.