Evonik
Evonik Marl PA12
The Marl Chemical Park: Evonik is reorganising its business for high-performance polymers within the polyamide group.
Evonik has announced it will withdraw entirely from the polyphthalamide (PPA) at its Witten site to concentrate on the development of polyamide 12 (PA12) materials in Marl.
The move is being made to drive its business in attractive growth markets like automotive, oil and gas, additive manufacturing, and optics.
By the end of the first quarter of 2020, the production and sale of polyphthalamide at its Witten facility will be discontinued, with all PPA production employees being transferred to the Marl PA12 production plant which is set to go on stream the following year. Production of transparent polyamides will also be expanded at the same time.
Evonik has invested €400 million into this new facility in Marl as it aims to drive its PA12 production capacity up by more than 50%. The company is already among the leading providers of PA12, offering powdered material through its VESTOSINT brand and granulates through the VESTAMID brand, but feels by pooling a section of its workforce can enhance the products it brings to market for use in an array of industries.
“Reorganising our polyamide business will concentrate our production and innovative strengths on specialty materials for promising applications in attractive markets such as lightweight construction, additive manufacturing, and composites. This, in turn, will give us a solid foundation for continuous growth,” Dr. Ralf Düssel, Head of the High Performance Polymers Business Line at Evonik. “For our customers, the move will mean a more intense focus on developing sophisticated specialty solutions.”
“As we focus our marketing activities on high-performance polymers, we will be utilising internal synergies to accommodate our long-serving Witten employees with secure jobs at the new polyamide 12 production facility in Marl, where we will be able to draw upon their decades of proven experience in polymer production and compounding,” added Dr. Iordanis Savvopoulos, Head of the Product Line Granules & Compounds at Evonik.
