International. Evonik revealed that it has completed the conceptual and basic engineering phase for the construction of its new polyamide 12 (PA12) production complex scheduled for the end of last year, and has now entered the implementation phase of the project. The facility complex is scheduled to begin operations in the first six months of 2021.
The project of about 400 million euros, Evonik's largest investment in Germany so far, is expected to increase the Group's overall capacity for PA12 by more than 50 percent. Additional facilities to produce the polymer and its precursors will be built at the Marl Chemical Park in North Rhine-Westphalia and complement the existing PA12 production plant.
"This project is a special challenge," explains Dr. Ralf Düssel, Head of the High Performance Polymers Business Line at Evonik, which, among other products, manufactures Vestamid and Vestosint, the Group's PA12 granules and powders.
"In Evonik's engineering unit, about 80 engineers are working on the project. We have also engaged a globally recognized and active technical service provider for the detail engineering of individual subprojects. The construction project is located in the immediate vicinity of ongoing production, with special safety standards, and we have to keep open the areas for construction containers, material storage and pre-assembly in addition to the actual construction sites. The Marl Chemical Park offers us optimal conditions for this extraordinary feat. Once we start the new facility, existing structures that have been in operation for more than 50 years will be used for product distribution."
