Degussa Coatings & Colorants Marks
Production Milestone for Vestoplast Line
lDegussa AGs coatings and colorants business unit recently hit a major milestone—it has produced 500,000 metric tons of Vestoplast at its Marl chemical facility. Production of the product line began in 1972. In 1981 a 12,000 metric ton per year production line was constructed for the product line. In 1988, a second line with an additional capacity of 20,000 metric tons/year went into operation, followed by a third line in 1994, which raised the total capacity of the plant to 45,000 metric tons/year. Debottlenecking measures have allowed Degussa to increased its capacity by another 5,000 metric tons per year to the current 50,000 tons per year total.
The Vestoplast trade name includes amorphous polyalphaolefins for a wide array of applications, including bonding for baby diapers and packaging and in wood processing. The product line is also gaining ascendancy as starting materials for hot-melt adhesives and is used as a starting material in the manufacture of high-grade rolled roof sheeting and as an additive in road construction, according to the company.