Victrex opens new £32 million VICTREX® PEEKTM polymer plant to significantly increase production capacity
Victrex plc, a leading
provider of high performance materials through the manufacture of
VICTREX® PEEK polymer, has opened a new
polymer manufacturing plant at its main production facility in
Thornton Cleveleys in Lancashire, UK. The new facility has been
built to support future demand for VICTREX PEEK polymer and
VICTREX PEEK-based products, such as VICOTE®
Coatings and APTIVTM
Film. It will
provide further security of supply to customers, increasing
production capacity by approximately 50 percent and establishing
a second stand-alone source of VICTREX PEEK polymer.
Victrex has
invested £32 million in this facility which
has the ability to produce1,450 tonnes per annum of VICTREX PEEK
products, increasing Victrex's total production capacity for
these products to 4,250 tonnes per annum. To support the new
plant opening Victrex has also increased its production workforce
by eight and opened three new apprenticeship positions.
"The opening
of this new plant has been much anticipated," said Dave
Hummel, Chief Executive Officer of Victrex plc. "In recent
years, we have seen a significant increase in worldwide demand
for our materials. We believe it is imperative for our capacity
to stay ahead of demand so customers have ample supply of high
quality products."
Blair Souder,
Commercial Director at Victrex commented, "our ongoing
application development work with customers has to be supported
as we grow the applications for VICTREX PEEK polymer as well as
the pipeline for future opportunities. Planning for additional
capacity is a critical part of our business strategy."
The new plant's
design minimises energy consumption, reduces water consumption
and provides improved effluent treatment. The new technology for
treating effluent will also be implemented in the existing plant.
The state-of-the-art plant is fully automated and operated from a
central control room, making it highly cost effective.
"The new plant is a stand-alone facility that can operate
completely independently of the existing facility, but it uses
the same core technology," said Tim Walker, Production &
Technical Director at Victrex. "This independence is a vital
back-up feature that will ensure the security of supply of
VICTREX PEEK polymer. In addition, the new plant incorporates all
of the Victrex proprietary technological improvements which we
have made over the years to improve the quality and consistency
of the material."
The new plant is a versatile facility that will be used to make
VICTREX PEEK polymer as well as specialty grade product lines
such as VICTREX PEEK-HT™ polymer, which has been the
material of choice for a number of years in demanding industrial
applications where extreme temperature performance is required.
All production at the plant comes under Victrex's existing ISO
9001 quality registration.
About Victrex
Victrex plc is an innovative leading manufacturer of high performance materials, including VICTREX® PEEK polymer, VICOTE® Coatings and APTIV film. These materials are used in a variety of markets and offer an exceptional combination of properties to help processors and end users reach new levels of cost savings, quality, and performance.
The plant extension is the third major British investment by Victrex this year.
In May, it opened a £5.3 million film extrusion plant to make Aptiv film and in July it opened a £1.5 million applied technology centre at Thornton Cleveleys.
Introducing a new level of high performance, high temperature materials, VICTREX® MAX-Series polymer
Victrex plc, a leading
provider of high performance materials including VICTREX®
PEEK polymer,
VICOTE® Coating and APTIV Film, has
introduced a new proprietary range of blended products, VICTREX
MAX-Series polymer.
This innovative new product line is part of the VICTREX PEEK
product family and is designed to perform in the most demanding
environments, specifically in applications requiring a
combination of high temperature mechanical performance and
dimensional stability. VICTREX MAX-Series polymers are a blend of VICTREX
PEEK polymer and genuine Extem® UH thermoplastic
polyimide (TPI) resin 熱可塑性ポリイミド樹脂
from
SABIC Innovative Plastics.
"VICTREX MAX-Series polymer is a blend of two complementary,
unfilled materials," says Mark Maddern, Global Product
Manager at Victrex. "It is designed to fill the performance
gap found in many of today's high temperature materials. Finding
a melt-processable, ultra-high temperature performance material
combined with chemical resistance, high purity, and controlled
coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) can be difficult. The
MAX-Series product was created to address these challenges and
with ability to perform at temperatures in the range of 150-275ºC."
Compared with standard VICTREX PEEK polymer, the new VICTREX
MAX-Series product provides a significant performance jump in
terms of mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. VICTREX
T-Series polymer blend, for example, offers excellent mechanical
properties and wear performance at elevated temperatures, and
VICTREX MAX-series polymer offers better controlled CTE over the
whole temperature range.
We've pulled selected key strengths from both VICTREX PEEK
polymer and Extem UH thermoplastic polyimide (TPI) resin to meet
customer needs. VICTREX PEEK's excellent chemical resistance,
hydrolytic stability, long-term heat, and wear resistance
combined with Extem resin's dimensional stability, high
temperature strength, and HDT/creep creates an exciting material
possibility for customers.
The new product will initially be launched with two grades:
MAX-Series M1000 polymer and MAX-Series M2000 polymer, each
containing different proportions of VICTREX PEEK and Extem resin.
Victrex is identifying opportunities for the product across a
wide range of markets and applications, including the oil and gas
and semiconductor sectors.
For oil and gas applications, long-term reliability and
resistance to extreme temperatures, chemical, and wear conditions
are critical. This is especially important as operations go into
more extreme environments. So, there is an increasing need for
tougher, more durable materials for applications such as downhole
and subsea electrical connectors and seal rings.
In the semiconductor industry, fabrication facilities are
constantly striving to develop components that combine high
purity and high temperature resistance. Victrex has a successful
history of working with customers in this segment and the VICTREX
MAX-Series polymer, which builds upon the solid foundation of
VICTREX PEEK polymer, has the potential to offer improved
performance for applications such chip trays and test sockets.
"Victrex continues to stay focused on its deep expertise in
polyetheretherketones," continues Maddern. Our product
portfolio has more than doubled in the past three years, and the
performance breadth of our products continues to expand through
the development of novel polymers, proprietary blends, and high
performance compounds. As customers look for a combination of
expertise and product performance range, Victrex is well
positioned to service their ever more challenging needs."
The introduction of VICTREX MAX-Series polymer complements the
company's introduction last year of VICTREX T-Series polymer, a
range of blends that combine VICTREX PEEK polymer with Celazole®
PBI
(polybenzimidazole). VICTREX T-Series polymer is designed to
perform in the most demanding applications requiring high thermal
resistance, strength and wear resistance. The product expands on
the mechanical and tribological performance of the Victrex grade
range at extreme high temperatures (greater than 250ºC).