Celanese Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.celanese.com) has begun construction of a vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) emulsions production unit at the company’s acetyls facility on Jurong Island, Singapore. The unit is expected to begin production by mid-2016.
This Singapore unit will be the third VAE investment by Celanese in Asia, demonstrating the company’s commitment to growth and development of its emulsions business in the region. The Singapore plant will support the Southeast Asia region including India, Australia and New Zealand.
“Building a new VAE emulsions unit within the Jurong Island facility allows us to take advantage of existing infrastructure and ensure geographic coverage,” said Mark Murray, vice president and general manager of the Celanese emulsion polymers business. “With a VAE plant in Singapore, we will broaden our network to better serve customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region, primarily in the higher-end applications of architectural coatings, building and construction, carpets, and paper industries.”
“This new VAE emulsions facility will build on the capability we have developed over the last 15-plus years in Singapore and we are excited about our continued growth in the region.” said Mark Oberle, senior vice president, Asia. “This expansion will support Celanese’s growth strategy to expand our reach into emerging markets by bringing highly successful products such as Celanese EcoVAE – a low odor paint emulsion – from the mature regions of Europe, the U.S., and China to Southeast Asia.”
Celanese created EcoVAE emulsions for use in low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints. These emulsions address formulation and regulatory concerns as well as offer distinct competitive marketing advantages especially among environmentally-conscious consumers. EcoVAE emulsions can be formulated into low-odor and low-to-near-zero VOC interior coatings.
Celanese currently operates two VAE emulsions units in Nanjing, China. The first began production at the company’s Nanjing integrated chemical complex in 2007, and the second began production at the same complex in 2011.
Celanese is a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions. The company manufactures these high-performance emulsions in all three major regions of the world at facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Celanese employees are experts in polymerization, process technology, manufacturing and application technology.