Styron L.L.C. plans to add a new reactor at the company's Zhangjiagang, China, production operation to boost its latex capacity.

The global materials company—a producer of rubber, latex and plastics—said the expansion will support demand in China's paper and paperboard industries, which is forecast to continue growing during the next five years.

"The paper and paperboard industries have been using Styron's latex chemistries for innovative binder coatings for more than 60 years," said James Mingyu Ni, Styron latex business director for the Asia-Pacific region.

The investment in the facility "will allow us to expand our reach in the Chinese marketplace where we have built a reputation for outstanding technical service and product quality," he said.

Pre-engineering is currently underway at the Zhangjiagang site, which a company spokeswoman said is well positioned "in that location with quality facilities and experienced employees."

Located along the Yangtze River, she said, the operation allows it to receive raw materials via sea transport.

Its new reactor is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2015, the spokeswoman said. The addition will be Styron's fourth reactor at the plant, which is located within a large Dow Chemical Co. complex. Styron, however, owns and operates a number of facilities within the hub.

In addition to supporting the paper and paperboard sector, the spokeswoman said, the expansion will provide capacity to supply the carpet industry while complementing Styron's other latex production facilities in South Korea and Indonesia.

Styron, which was formed as an independent company in 2010 when Dow Chemical divested a number of businesses, offers "a wide range of custom-engineered solutions that improve end-use properties for paper and paperboard, carpet, building and construction materials, and a variety of other products," said Marco Levi, senior vice president and business president of Emulsions Polymers.

During the last five years, Styron has been involved in the startup of 80 percent of the new coated paper and paperboard mills in China, according to Ni, "helping our customers determine optimal product formulations for their paper coating challenges."

Source: rubbernews.com