Kraton Performance Polymers Opens Innovation Center In Belpre, Ohio
06/26/2014
Combined, the new pilot facility and the existing Belpre manufacturing plant employ nearly 600 employees and contractors, making Kraton one of the largest employers in the Mid-Ohio Valley area.
According to the firm, this pilot facility allows Kraton to manufacture a wide range of SBC-type materials in quantities ranging from 25 kilograms to 50 metric tons. The facility and its high-technology process equipment broadens the company's abilities in polymeric chemistry by leveraging unique, less traditional monomers and building blocks to meet customer needs and create innovative applications.
“This new ability to generate developmental polymer and processing technologies also opens the door to applications and industries where traditional SBCs were unable to participate,” officials noted.
The plant is located within the company's flagship commercial manufacturing facility in Belpre. This allows the new facility to capitalize on the existing plant's technical skills, talents and infrastructure. “Its fit-for-purpose volume scale-up bridges the gap between laboratory and full-scale production of products within the development cycle, enhancing the company's ability to deliver developmental polymers in customizable quantities in record time. It will reduce reliance upon Kraton's commercial manufacturing plants for test runs, resulting in fewer type changes and improved utilization of its manufacturing facilities,” company officials explained.
"By making this additional investment in innovation, we are accelerating our time to market and improving our supply chain capabilities, which enables us to meet the needs of our global customers. This new facility has garnered significant interest on the part of those customers and our development partners around the world," said Kevin Fogarty, President/CEO. "It also underscores our long-term commitment to the Mid-Ohio Valley and its economic growth."
Project Announcements
Zekelman Industries Expands Blytheville, Arkansas, Operations
04/19/2024
Fibrebond Corporation Expands Webster Parish, Louisiana, Operations
04/19/2024
Master Steel Expands Hardeeville, South Carolina, Operations
04/19/2024
L3Harris Technologies Expands Orange County, Virginia, Operations
04/18/2024
Republic Airways Holdings Plans Tuskegee, Alabama, Training Operations
04/18/2024
South Africa-Based Radel Plans Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Operations
04/18/2024
Most Read
-
2023's Leading Metro Locations: Hotspots of Economic Growth
Q4 2023
-
2023 Top States for Doing Business Meet the Needs of Site Selectors
Q3 2023
-
38th Annual Corporate Survey: Are Unrealized Predictions of an Economic Slump Leading Small to Mid-Size Companies to Put Off Expansion Plans?
Q1 2024
-
Manufacturing Momentum Is Building
Q1 2024
-
Making Hybrid More Human in 2024
Q1 2024
-
20th Annual Consultants Survey: Clients Prioritize Access to Skilled Labor, Responsive State & Local Government
Q1 2024
-
Public-Private Partnerships Incentivize Industrial Development
Q1 2024