Invista to Double Nylon 6,6 Capacity at Production Site

Materials and intermediates maker Invista is injecting $230 million into the Invista Nylon Chemicals (China) Co. manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China to double the site’s current capacity for nylon 6,6 polymer.

The company announced August 25 that a memorandum of cooperation was signed with the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP), where the facility is located. Following the project, the plant will be capable of manufacturing 400,000 tn/yr of nylon 6,6 products. Invista’s expanded capabilities will aid the company in serving demand for engineering plastics in automotive, electrical and electronics, and other applications.

“The growing demand for nylon 6,6 polymer in China and the Asia Pacific region has encouraged us to continue our investments over the past years. With this expanded capacity, we will be able to help our customers meet their growing demands for nylon products,” Pete Brown, executive vice president, Nylon Polymer for Invista, said in a release.

Invista increased capacity at the Shanghai facility by 40,000 tn/yr in 2020. The global nylon 6,6 market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2% through 2029, while the market in China is anticipated to expand at a 4% CAGR.

“We anticipate China’s demand for nylon products will account for more than half of the total production and consumption of nylon in the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to become the world’s largest nylon consumer,” the company’s announcement said.

Work on the project is slated to commence in the second quarter of 2022 and begin operations in the first quarter of 2024.