Eastman Chemical is increasing capacity for its Tritan-brand speciality copolyester at a plant in Kingsport.
The project includes construction of new manufacturing facilities and conversion of some existing operations, officials with Kingsport-based Eastman said in a 13 March news release. The project is expected to be completed by late 2009.
Annual growth for Tritan and for the global copolyester market is expected to average 6-8% for the next several years, according to Dante Rutstrom, vice president and general manager of Eastman s specialty plastics unit.
Rutstrom said in the release: This product has been well-received by customers and consumers.
He added: We are completing this expansion so that we can continue to grow with the market demand in the coming years.
Eastman formally launched Tritan in October, at the K 2007 trade show in D sseldorf, Germany. The product is aimed at a range of applications including housewares, appliances and sheet.
Its attributes include heat resistance, toughness and ease of processing. Tritan is expected to compete with polycarbonate in several markets.
Current Tritan customers include water bottle maker CamelBak Products LLC of Petaluma, California; blender manufacturer Vita-Mix of Olmsted Falls, Ohio; and Carlisle Food Service Products of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tritan can handle vivid aesthetics and is dishwasher-safe, Eastman officials said at K 2007. They added that the material can be lighter than PC and other competing materials because of its lower density.
Eastman officials previously had said that the firm would convert 220 million pounds of PET capacity over to copolyester by 2010. Eastman a longtime leader in the PET field is transitioning into more profitable business segments.
The firm has sold off most of its PET assets outside of the U.S. and also plans to reduce its North American PET capacity by almost 500 million pounds by 2012.
The closing of about 900 million pounds of PET capacity partly will be offset by the addition of about 400 million pounds using Integrex-brand technology at a plant in Columbia, South Carolina, Integrex is designed to increase Eastman s efficiency in producing PET.
The move into copolyester and other higher-margin efforts is expected to increase Eastman s per-share earnings to $10 per share by 2010. In 2007, the firm s sales were roughly flat at about $6.8bn (4.3bn)- when compared with 2006 but its operating profit fell 23% to $504m in the same comparison.
The project includes construction of new manufacturing facilities and conversion of some existing operations, officials with Kingsport-based Eastman said in a 13 March news release. The project is expected to be completed by late 2009.
Annual growth for Tritan and for the global copolyester market is expected to average 6-8% for the next several years, according to Dante Rutstrom, vice president and general manager of Eastman s specialty plastics unit.
Rutstrom said in the release: This product has been well-received by customers and consumers.
He added: We are completing this expansion so that we can continue to grow with the market demand in the coming years.
Eastman formally launched Tritan in October, at the K 2007 trade show in D sseldorf, Germany. The product is aimed at a range of applications including housewares, appliances and sheet.
Its attributes include heat resistance, toughness and ease of processing. Tritan is expected to compete with polycarbonate in several markets.
Current Tritan customers include water bottle maker CamelBak Products LLC of Petaluma, California; blender manufacturer Vita-Mix of Olmsted Falls, Ohio; and Carlisle Food Service Products of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tritan can handle vivid aesthetics and is dishwasher-safe, Eastman officials said at K 2007. They added that the material can be lighter than PC and other competing materials because of its lower density.
Eastman officials previously had said that the firm would convert 220 million pounds of PET capacity over to copolyester by 2010. Eastman a longtime leader in the PET field is transitioning into more profitable business segments.
The firm has sold off most of its PET assets outside of the U.S. and also plans to reduce its North American PET capacity by almost 500 million pounds by 2012.
The closing of about 900 million pounds of PET capacity partly will be offset by the addition of about 400 million pounds using Integrex-brand technology at a plant in Columbia, South Carolina, Integrex is designed to increase Eastman s efficiency in producing PET.
The move into copolyester and other higher-margin efforts is expected to increase Eastman s per-share earnings to $10 per share by 2010. In 2007, the firm s sales were roughly flat at about $6.8bn (4.3bn)- when compared with 2006 but its operating profit fell 23% to $504m in the same comparison.
