On March 19, Lubrizol Corporation announced the opening of a new production line in Shanghai Songjiang to meet the growing demand for TPU and specialty compounds
The expansion in China is part of Lubrizol’s global total of nearly US$80 million in specialty polymer strategic investments to support the company’s specialty polymer business and well-known product lines including thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).
The new blending line of the Songjiang plant was completed in February and put into production from the first quarter of 2018. Songjiang's new reactive extrusion line will be put into operation in the second half of 2018.
Lubrizol's expansion plans are based on the company’s forecast for double-digit growth in demand for specialty elastomers and composites. The new blending line enhances the ability to produce tailor-made functional TPUs and elastomer compounds, while providing sufficient capacity to support recent Growth. To support regional business growth, it is expected that the new reactive extrusion line will increase Songjiang's TPU production capacity by nearly 40%.
Lubrizol was the first foreign company to invest in local production of TPU. The 2018 expansion project marked the fourth major expansion of the Songjiang plant since the beginning of the production of TPU in the early 2000s. The Songjiang plant has been in operation for more than three years, during which time No recordable events have occurred, and it has good reliability.
Lubrizol is increasing production capacity at its global TPU production base in major regions of the world and increasing blending capabilities. Lubrizol’s plants in Ubed, Belgium, Montmelo, Spain, and Avon Lake, Ohio are implementing multiple phased investments. And expansion projects. The company also plans to make further investments in Asia in 2019.