Solvay, a Brussels, Belgium-based international chemical and advanced materials company, increased the production capacity of its silica plant in Chicago Heights, Illinois in the US by 10,000 metric tonnes (MT) to further extend its reach in the North American market.
The project is underway and will deliver an additional 10,000 MT of highly dispersible silica (HDS) capacity by 2018. Highly dispersible silica (HDS), invented by Solvay Silica in the 1990s, is used to manufacture energy-saving tyres.
Solvay will also be additional grades from its Zeosil and Tixosil product lines in the Chicago Heights facility over the same time period to adapt to expanding demand for new products in North America.
This expansion is a further continuation of Solvay’s global investment in the HDS market and follows Solvay’s recent investments in a new plant in Poland last year, HDS production in Brazil this year, and the scheduled start-up of a new plant in Korea this year.
The silica business expansion will also help the company provide their partners with local supply of their global technologies as well as produce new products to support the needs of the North American market, according to An Nuyttens, President of Solvay’s Silica GBU.
The Chicago Heights, Illinois, silica plant, was founded in 1995, and is one of nine Solvay Silica plants that makeup Solvay’s global production network across Europe, South America, North America and Asia, producing highly dispersible silica at the highest quality standard for fuel-saving tyres, battery separators, and other key markets.