New Centre and Joint-venture

On June 12 A. Schulman opened in Kerpen (Germany) the Academy centre for the development of new engineering polymers and related applications. The ceremony was attended by technology partners, customers and the international trade press. The centre has been devised as a means of bringing together research and innovation through specific product developments and training activities. The aim is to implement, also thanks to machines, equipment and dedicated laboratories, a platform for creativity, practical testing and ideas that is capable of defining future development trends in the plastics industry.
The inauguration included a series of presentations by members of the company management, a tour of the production facilities, and a practical demonstration of extrusion of a pipe comprising three layers of polyamide and used in cars to feed fuel from the tank to the engine.
Furthermore, on June 11, A. Schulman announced an equal joint venture with the Saudi National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NatPet), part of the Alujain group. The agreement is for the construction, in Yanbu (Saudi Arabia), of a plant for the production of polypropylene-based compound destined mainly for markets in Africa, the Middle East and India. The plant will be completed by the end of 2014.