International. Evonik Industries reported that it is building a new production plant for special copolyesters at its Witten headquarters in Germany. As binders for paints, special copolyesters are used in coil coatings and, increasingly, in food can coatings.
The company is investing a sum of half a million euros in the plant, which will have an annual production capacity of several thousand metric tons.
The project is on track to reach mechanical completion by the end of November 2017. After the success of the mechanical completion, the commissioning phase will begin and it is planned to start the commercial operation in the first period of 2018.
Polyester-based coatings are perceived as a good alternative to replace standard epoxy-based coating systems to ensure bisphenol-free food packaging. Evonik has anticipated this trend and decided at the end of 2015 to invest in additional capacity to be well prepared to accompany future growth in this market.
Evonik is a major player in the polyester market for pre-coated metals and reactive hot melts. The company has production facilities at its headquarters in Marl, Witten and Shanghai. Polyesters of the Dynapol brand serve as binders for paints. In addition to coil coatings, they are also increasingly used for food can coatings as well as in flexible packaging. Dynacoll polyesters are used in reactive hot casting applications.
