DSM doubles Stanyl® capacity with opening of new plant in Geleen (NL)

Royal DSM N.V. (www.dsmep.com, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in The Netherlands, today announces that the second polymerization plant for Stanyl® polyamide 46 on the Chemelot site in Geleen (Netherlands) has opened. The new plant doubles DSM’s worldwide production capacity for this high-performance plastic, supporting expected continuous strong growth in the coming years based on the leading position of Stanyl® in electronics and the growing usage in automotive applications due to higher demand for metal replacement. DSM has invested several tens of millions of euros in the new plant.

Stanyl® is an aliphatic polyamide with unique properties used in automotive, electronics and industrial applications. DSM is the inventor and sole producer of polyamide 46 worldwide which is being sold to customers under the brand name Stanyl®. The two polymerization plants in Geleen provide Stanyl® base resin to DSM compounding operations worldwide in Europe, the United States, Japan, India and China.

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The decision to build the new plant was taken at the end of 2006. DSM chose Chemelot as the site to build the plant as capacity to manufacture high-purity diaminobutane is also located in Geleen. Diaminobutane is the key monomer in the production of Stanyl.

“This capacity increase is targeted to support further growth,” says Jos Goessens, President of DSM Engineering Plastics. “Stanyl delivers the best performance of all high temperature polyamides in many demanding applications and often outperforms other high-heat polymers such as polyphenylene sulfides (PPS) and Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs). With the second Stanyl facility we are able to secure the supply of Stanyl to support the excellent growth of our customers worldwide in the years ahead.”

“The fact that DSM has further invested in its Chemelot site in Geleen, the company’s biggest manufacturing site, demonstrates the competitive strength of this site and DSM’s commitment to it. This investment gives a further boost to our site and to economic growth of the region”, comments Jos Schneiders, President of DSM Nederland.

“This investment is fully in line with our strategy Vision 2010: Building on Strengths”, says Nico Gerardu, member of the DSM Managing Board of Directors and responsible for the Performance Materials cluster. “As we continue to invest in future profitable growth, we focus on specialty performance materials such as Stanyl® as part of our strategy to reduce sensitivity of the cluster to economic cycles.”

Stanyl® can be found in many applications thanks to its unique set of properties. With a melting temperature of 295°C it survives better than with other engineering plastics in hot conditions where fuels and oils are present. In applications where Stanyl® replaces metals, weight and fuel efficiency gains can be substantial. In the automotive industry it is used for applications such as tensioners, turbo parts, air ducts, gears, sensors and clutch rings.

As an airbag sewing thread Stanyl® offers higher temperature resistance for more safety. Stanyl® is also widely used in components for computers, mobile phones and personal electronics as well as in electrical applications such as connectors, circuit breaker housings, micro-switches and electric motor parts. In aero engines Stanyl® parts resist heat and vibrations. In consumer applications Stanyl® is used as water kettle components including safety switches, and a variety of other hand and power tool components.

DSM Engineering Plastics, Sittard, Netherlands

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