Elkem to Expand Specialty Silicones Production in France
The expansion is the largest organic investment project in Elkem’s European silicones franchise in a decade.
Elkem recently announced a strategic investment plan to expand specialty silicones supply for customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Americas. The company will invest around €36 million (approximately $41.7 million) to upgrade and debottleneck its silicone upstream plant in Roussillon, France. The board of directors has approved a 20,000-metric-tons capacity expansion, bringing the effective silicone intermediates capacity from Elkem’s upstream plant in Roussillon to 100,000 metric tons per year while delivering productivity, cost, sustainability, and climate protection improvements.
“At a time when silicones and their raw materials are in shortage, the expansion is cornerstone to meeting the future needs of our specialty silicones customers in EMEA and the Americas, where the market is expected to grow by around 6% per year between 2020 and 2025,” said Frédéric Jacquin, senior vice president in charge of Elkem’s Silicones Division. “This investment complements the ongoing capacity expansion at our Xinghuo site in China, which primarily serves growth in the Asia-Pacific region and further strengthens our cost position as well as environmental performance.”