According to PRW.com, Russian plastic pipe producer and compounder Polyplastic Group has opened a new compounding line at its Saratov pipe plant in southern Russia.
The latest installation provides the unit with a total of six composite material production lines and will allow it to turn out materials with up to 85% filling. The line also increases the plant’s compounds volume to around 40,000 tpa.
The Saratov expansion was prompted by a significant rise in demand for composite products, particularly from the automotive industry, construction, electronics and household appliances.
Polyplastic group, which has a dozen plastic processing businesses in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, plans further expansion of its composites section, Russian press reports quote Michael Katsevman, the group’s director of research and development as stating.
He estimated Polypastic could reach an overall capacity of 70,000 – 80,000 tpa by 2013. The group has two compounding plants apart from Saratov, in Moscow and Togliatti, Russia.
The group, which manufactured 180,000 tpa of polyethylene pipe systems, fittings and plastics composites in 2008, compounds a range of materials based on polypropylene, polyamide 6, PA 66 and PBT as well as thermoplastic elastomers based on PVC and PP.
Polyplastic is expanding compounding as major international automotive groups and their suppliers relocate production in the region. The firm counts among its clients in this and the home appliance sector names such as Ford, Faurecia, Indesit, LG and Vestel as well as Russian companies including Syran-Plastic, Alta-Profil and Assol.
Richard Higgs (PRW.com)