Dynasol Group, a joint venture between KUO and Repsol, says that it has decided to increase its production capacity in Santander, Spain, by installing a brand-new line to produce styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR). The investment will represent an increase of production of 20 kilotonnes/year of SSBR in Spain (with the potential to reach 25 kilotonnes/year) and is expected to be online by the first quarter of 2024.
The SSBR project is economically viable thanks to the European Union’s incentives assigned to the Cantabria’s community for new investments. European funds are channelled through the Regional Economic Incentives Law (LIR).
Dynasol’s expansion plan also includes a capacity increase of its current styrene-butadiene-copolymer (SBC) line located in Altamira, Mexico by 10 kilotonnes/year.
This new set up will provide it with great flexibility to produce more SBS or more SSBR as needed.
Dynasol SSBR’s and SBC’s are used in high-end applications such as plastic modification, adhesives, asphalt modification and industrial goods.
The products that the company commercializes have seen a significant demand increase for segments such as EV’s, electronics, adhesives for fast-consuming-goods (FCG), asphalt modification and compounding in both America and Europe.
“The market evolution of the last two years, logistics challenges and the impact from the global pandemic has led us to re-evaluate our current business model. We believe that regionalisation will play an important role in the customer’s decision process therefore, we need to adapt and respond according to the new market dynamics” said Felipe Varela, Director of Dynasol Group.
Dynasol has revenues of around EUR600 million and a synthetic rubber capacity of 500 kilotonnes/year.