Specialty chemicals firm Nouryon is investing in a project at its manufacturing facility in Delfzijl, The Netherlands to boost the capacity and efficiency of monochloroacetic acid (MCA) production at the site, the company announced in a recent release.

The crystalline material is used to produce crop protection, home, and personal care products and also has applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Nouryon said the investment will help the company to keep up with market growth and increase its own supply of MCA used to manufacture carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC).

“MCA serves several high-growth sectors, including crop protection products in the Americas and pharmaceutical production in India and other emerging markets,” Rob Vancko, head of MCA and Strategy, Industrial Chemicals for Nouryon, said in a statement. “The expansion project in Delfzijl combined with the opening of a new joint venture plant in India later this year will increase our overall MCA production capacity by more than 20% to help us capture demand growth.”

During the project, Nouryon will invest in new technology and efficiency improvements at the Delfzijl plant.

“These projects will allow us to fully benefit from our technology leadership in MCA and the growth of Nouryon’s CMC business. It reflects our focus on making targeted investments in attractive end markets that support customer growth,” said Kurt Schwalenberg, president, Industrial Chemicals, for Nouryon, in the release.