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As the international plastics industry came together at this week's Fakuma exhibition, Global Thermoplastic Elastomers compounding group HEXPOL TPE announced plans for further investment and capacity expansion at their site in Lichtenfels, Germany.
The investment includes the installation of a new twin-screw production line as well as investment in infrastructure, sub-systems and equipment to support further expansion of the business. The new line is expected to come on-stream in early 2018 and will add around 5000 tonnes per annum capacity, putting HEXPOL TPE's global TPE capacity in excess of 80 000 tonnes per annum.
The new line in Germany will increase capacity for the companies TPS, TPO and TPU based Thermoplastic Elastomer compounds, in particular growing demand from the automotive, consumer and footwear markets.
Speaking at Fakuma, Dr. Peter Ryzko, managing director at HEXPOL TPE's German operation said "We're extremely proud of the journey we've been on over the past few years. This investment is the third new line we have installed since 2013 and is part of our on-going commitment to deliver a highly responsive, quick and flexible service. Alongside the capacity expansion in Germany we are also investing in our product safety, research and development resources, which are housed in a state-of-the-art technical centre at Lichtenfels. We work in some highly specialized and sensitive application areas, where the technical support, customised compounds and analytical data we provide is essential. We're also seeing a growing need for in-depth knowledge of regulatory and industry standards as well as global and national legislation. This latest investment is part of HEXPOL's continuing determination to be the easiest company to do business with, by delivering the complete package of material know-how, personal service, application expertise and global capabilities."
About the company
HEXPOL TPE is a global polymer compounding group specializing in Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE) for key industries such as consumer, medical, packaging, automotive and construction. The HEXPOL group of companies has a global footprint covering EU, Asia-Pacific and North America.
