Brussels, December 3, 2014 --- Solvay is increasing resin production capacity at its plant in Panoli, Gujarat state in India, by 25 percent to support strong demand for its innovative ultra-high performance polymers KetaSpire® and AvaSpire®.

Solvay's Global Business Unit Specialty Polymers has the industry's widest range of high and ultra-high performance polymers. Thanks to their outstanding qualities of strength, toughness, excellent friction and wear properties, heat and chemical resistance, Solvay's KetaSpire® and AvaSpire® are used in markets growing at least 8-10% annually. In transportation, these ultra-polymers replace metals and help make cars and airplanes lighter thereby reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Other key markets include healthcare, electronics and energy. 

Capacity expansion of the polyaryletherketone resin, used as a base to make KetaSpire® polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and AvaSpire® polyaryletherketone (PAEK), is already underway to reach more than 1,000 tons per year in the third quarter of 2015. 

"Demand for KetaSpire® and AvaSpire® resins has been growing significantly thanks to Solvay's ability to deliver innovative and tailored solutions in close relations with its customers," said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, President of Solvay Specialty Polymers. "Today's announcement to debottleneck capacity shows we are determined to keep pace with this growing demand worldwide and with our customers' creativity in leveraging the features of our innovative materials." 

Ever since commissioning its polyaryletherketone resin operations in 2008, Solvay Specialty Polymers has progressively built up resin capacity at Panoli. Solvay's major R&I center in Savli, also located in Gujarat and about 100 km from Panoli, made important contributions to innovations that are supporting the site's expansion. 

The Indian Chemical Council recently awarded Panoli Responsible Care® certification, recognizing its dedication to developing and supplying products and services that, throughout their life cycle, pose minimum risk to human beings and the environment, while best meeting customer needs.

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As an international chemical group, SOLVAY assists industries in finding and implementing ever more responsible and value-creating solutions. Solvay generates 90% of its net sales in activities where it is among the world's top three players. It serves many markets, varying from energy and the environment to automotive and aeronautics or electricity and electronics, with one goal: to raise the performance of its clients and improve society's quality of life. The group is headquartered in Brussels, employs about 29,400 people in 56 countries and generated 9.9 billion euros in net sales in 2013. Solvay SA (SOLB.BE) is listed on EURONEXT Brussels and EURONEXT Paris (Bloomberg: SOLB:BB - Reuters: SOLB.BR).
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