WILMINGTON, US: Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc, announced plans to invest approximately $89 million over the next three years to expand specialty chemical production at its manufacturing facility in Hopewell, Virginia, US.
The majority of the investment will be aimed at expanding production of two key product lines. Ashland would increase production of Natrosol hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), used as a thickener in latex paints, by 4,700 metric tonne (approximately 40 per cent) in Hopewell. The company also will expand capacity for Klucel hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), a high-value technology used to enable time-release delivery in pharmaceutical tablet binders and coatings and other applications, by approximately 50 per cent.
The plant expansion is expected to begin during the summer of 2015. An estimated 17 new jobs are expected to be added to the facility’s current total of 237 positions as a result of the expansion.
“This significant investment demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the growing needs of our customers. We see good opportunities for growth in these core product lines and this expansion will ensure we are in a strong position to capitalize on those opportunities,” said Luis Fernandez-Moreno, Senior Vice President, Ashland and President, Ashland Specialty Ingredients.
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