Milliken Increases Its Capacity

Milliken Expands Capacity Milliken & Company is taking bold steps to meet anticipated market needs by expanding the facilities and capacity it acquired in March when it purchased Zebra-chem GmbH, a German company. Zebra-chem is a specialty compounds and chemical company that produces additives and blowing agent concentrates for polyolefins, PVC and engineering thermoplastics. The expansion will enable Milliken to increase production capacity at the acquired Bad Bentheim plant by 60 percent by year-end. Milliken plans to install new production equipment at the facility, which will be renamed Birch I, and hire additional staff. It has also recently constructed a new warehouse called Birch II. Milliken has been a leader in sustainability for more than a century, and the company's legacy of naming locations after trees is a tribute to this core company value. Tuğçe Asıcı-van Houselt, Sales Manager at Milliken, said, "We are seeing very strong demand from several end markets where these products add significant value, and our customer base has welcomed our expanded solutions portfolio. These facilities will continue to serve the global market with a focus on Europe, the Middle East and Africa." [caption id="attachment_137802" align="aligncenter"] With its newly acquired Zebra-chem facilities in Germany, Milliken has increased storage capacity. (Photo © 2022 Milliken & Company, all rights reserved, MKPR269)[/caption] Viscosity modifiers and performance modifiers produced at the German plant increase melt flow of recycled PP resins with minimal or no loss in physical properties, enabling converters and brand owners to use more recycled content without compromising overall performance. Wim Van de Velde, Global Vice President of Milliken's Plastic Additives division, said, "Milliken is recognized for sustainable innovation. We are excited to leverage our leading position in Europe to help accelerate market solutions that improve and increase production with recycled plastics. This expansion demonstrates clear market response." The facility also produces solid concentrates that serve as chemical blowing agents for the production of foamed thermoplastics. These materials provide weight reduction without compromising mechanical properties, as well as enhanced thermal and acoustic insulation, and are suitable for use in PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. Converters can use them in both extrusion and injection molding foaming processes. Milliken stated that it is on track to fully integrate the acquired operations throughout this calendar year. Source