AkzoNobel recently announced plans to boost capacity at its Battleground, Texas, site. The measure involves extending the tri-methyl-aluminum (TMAL) unit and building a new tri-methyl-gallium (TMG) plant. TMAL is a feedstock for TMG, a high-purity metal organic (HPMO) used in products such as LED wafer manufacturing.

“The LED industry has been experiencing strong growth, well in excess of 20% per annum,” said Werner Fuhrmann, Executive Committee member responsible for Specialty Chemicals. “This investment will make production more cost efficient and ensure that we continue supplying our customers with a highly specialized product that is playing an increasingly important role in 21st-century technology.”

The expanded TMAL unit is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2013, while the new TMG plant will be ready in August 2014.

For additional information, visit www.akzonobel.com.