Evonik recently announced that it is reorganizing its business for high-performance polymers within the polyamide group. The company has begun construction of a new polyamide 12 (PA 12) facility complex and is expanding its production of transparent polyamides at the Marl Chemical Park. Evonik reports that it is concentrating its activities on high-performance materials for attractive growth markets such as the automotive, oil and gas, 3D printing, and optics industries.

As part of the reorganization process, Evonik will withdraw entirely from the polyphthalamide (PPA) business at its Witten site by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Evonik will transfer employees from the PPA plant to its Marl site, where they will work at the new PA 12 production plant.

“Reorganizing our polyamide business will concentrate our production and innovative strengths on specialty materials for promising applications in attractive markets such as lightweight construction, additive manufacturing, and composites,” said Ralf Düssel, Ph.D., head of the High Performance Polymers business line at Evonik. “This, in turn, will give us a solid foundation for continuous growth. For our customers, the move will mean a more intense focus on developing sophisticated specialty solutions.”

Evonik’s roughly €400 million (approximately $448.1 million) investment in Germany will increase the company’s overall capacity for PA 12 by over 50%. The project will complement existing PA 12 production at the Marl Chemical Park in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with additional plants for the polymer and its precursors. The facility complex is scheduled to go on stream in the first half of 2021.

At the same time, Evonik will also be expanding production of transparent polyamides in Marl. This production expansion, which will double the company’s overall capacity for the material, is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2020.

Additional details are available at www.evonik.com.