DuPont: Production of Elvax® EVA and Bynel® adhesive resins in Europe
DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers (P&IP), a worldwide leader in specialty ethylene copolymers, announce plans to add capacity in Europe to manufacture Elvax® ethylene vinyl acetate resins and Bynel® adhesive resins. Production will begin in early 2004, following conversion of an LPDE tubular reactor at the Specialty Polymers Antwerp (SPA) facility in Antwerp, Belgium.
DuPont will manufacture a wide range of its Elvax® and Bynel copolymer resins in Antwerp. This expansion gives DuPont both autoclave and tubular facilities to supply the broadest range of products to customers globally. Typical applications for these products include flexible packaging, adhesives, footwear and wire and cable. The speciality copolymers include grades used for blown film, extrusion, lamination, foaming, injection molding, and compounding. The resins are inherently flexible, resilient, and tough. Some Elvax® EVA grades can also be stabilised for applications requiring resistance to sunlight or weathering with little or no sacrifice of clarity.
“This investment reinforces our pledge to a strong global ethylene copolymers business and also demonstrates our will to further meet our growth objectives by continuing to deliver value to our customers world-wide,” says Craig Binetti, President of DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers.
David McFall, Director DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers Europe, adds, “The developments in Belgium reflect DuPont’s commitment to the European market. With these steps we expect to further improve service levels and provide a tailored offering for our European customers.”
In October 2000, DuPont and Borealis established Specialty Polymers Antwerp N.V. as a manufacturing joint to manufacture ethylene-acrylate copolymers for the parent companies. Previous modifications at the Belgian plant in 2002 saw DuPont broaden its range of acrylate polymers with the launch of Elvaloy® AC acrylate copolymers, offering high melt strength and new levels of heat resistance in easy-processing olefin-based materials. Applications for Elvaloy® AC include industrial extrusions, extrusion coating, polymer modification, PVC replacement, soft touch, and cast and blown films. This next phase of investment by DuPont further expands their global capacity for specialty ethylene copolymers and supports the continued growth of their Elvax® and Bynel® product lines.