Plant Watch: December 2019

Plant Watch Wacker starts up new silicon-metal production plant in Norway November 15, 2019 — Wacker Chemie AG’s (Munich, Germany; www.wacker.com) new silicon-metal production plant officially went on stream at the Holla site in Norway, following over two years of construction. The new furnace is one of the largest of its kind in the world and increases the Holla site’s total capacity by more than 40%. A total of around €100 million was invested in the new plant.   Teijin Aramid moves forward with capacity expansion November 13, 2019 — Teijin Aramid B.V. (Arnhem, the Netherlands; www.teijinaramid.com) began a second round of activities to increase para-aramid fiber production, targeting more than 25% capacity increase in five years. After the first phase of expansion through de-bottlenecking, the company now moves into the major phase of investment, realizing the full increased capacity by 2022. The expansion projects will take place in two plants in Delfzijl and Emmen, the Netherlands. Delfzijl is the production site for monomers and polymers, and the Emmen plant is used for spinning.   McDermott wins AMS technology contract from Formosa Chemicals November 8, 2019 — McDermott International, Inc. (Houston;…