Celanese Corp. (Dallas, Tex.) announced the opening of its expanded Michigan Technology Center (MTC)—a strategic expansion that strengthens the company’s U.S.-based innovation footprint and advances its Engineered Materials 2026 growth strategy. The center is designed to enable earlier customer engagement, faster development cycles, and deeper integration of technology and expertise across Celanese’s materials portfolio.
The expanded MTC brings together piloting, application development, and advanced engineering prototyping capabilities under one roof. This integration unifies talent, tools, and technology while modernizing Celanese’s ability to collaborate with customers on next‑generation material solutions. The expansion also incorporates the relocation of the Santoprene® TPV piloting operation from Houston, Texas, reducing our overall cost to support while creating a centralized hub for extrusion development, foaming technologies, and advanced engineering.
“The Michigan Technology Center represents a major step forward in our commitment to innovation and the long‑term growth of our EM business,” said Todd Elliott, Senior Vice President, Engineered Materials. “By bringing advanced development capabilities closer to our customers while improving efficiencies, we strengthen our ability to co‑create differentiated solutions and drive the next wave of growth with our development partners.”
Customers gain access to a distinctive set of capabilities, including:
- Hands‑on co‑development with Celanese experts across application validation and design optimization.
- Unique technical capabilities, including a highly specialized Santoprene® TPV pilot line and advanced foaming technologies that enable broader design space and performance innovation.
- Faster development cycles, enabled by local responsiveness paired with global technical depth.
- Stronger supply chain resilience through U.S.-based innovation resources and development support.
The Troy facility has been expanded by more than 10,000 square feet of new high‑bay processing space, plus 3,000 square feet of modified areas including a new control room, electrical room, and future office space. The nearby Auburn Hills site adds nearly 4,000 square feet of updated lab and new innovation space.
Importantly, both projects were completed with zero Tier 1 or Tier 2 safety or environmental incidents. Together, the projects required approximately 60,000 people‑hours, including building construction and site preparation, with 27 truckloads of equipment and materials relocated to Michigan—ranging from injection molders and extrusion lines to QC test equipment and Santoprene® compounding systems.
The expanded center supports development across 17-plus Engineered Materials product families, including Zytel® PA, Hytrel® TPC, Forton® PPS, and Santoprene® TPV. By centralizing advanced engineering, computer-aided engineering (CAE), Field Technical Service (FTS), and application development capabilities in Michigan, Celanese enhances its ability to engage earlier with customers, accelerate application development and deepen long‑term customer partnerships.