Arkema boosts its previously announced global Pebax® elastomer capacity expansion at its Serquigny, France site from +25% to +40% in two separate phases, firstly in Q1 2023 by raising global capacity by 15%, the additional 25% starting in Q3 2023.
The greater increase in Pebax® elastomer capacity will support the strong demand from partner customers in the sports, consumer electronics, medical and industrial markets, who recognize the highly specialized Pebax® grades’ lightweight, flexibility and exceptional energy return. Applications range from ultra-fast running shoes to catheters or flexible device screens.
Beyond this new capacity expansion in France and to support the growth of its global customers, the Group is currently assessing further investment opportunities, including in Asia.
As customer demand is increasingly driven by sustainability and social responsibility, over the last few years Arkema has benefited from strong growth in particular for its bio-based Pebax® Rnew® grades, derived from renewable castor beans. These materials have a significantly lower carbon footprint thanks to their bio-based content and can be fully recycled as part of Arkema’s Virtucycle® recycling program for advanced polymers.
The Group continues to innovate and invest to further improve its materials’ carbon footprint. As part of this expansion for example, water consumption will be reduced by 25% at the Serquigny site thanks to process improvements.
We are very excited to announce this acceleration of our Pebax® elastomer capacity increase. Demand continues to grow, especially for our bio-based Pebax® Rnew® range. There is no compromise between high performance and sustainability. Our customers demand both.”