Invista will invest more than US$50 million to build a major manufacturing facility for polyamide 6.6 (PA 6.6) yarns in the Shanghai region of China. Construction of the plant, which will boast an annual capacity of 11 kt, will take place later this year, with commercial production scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

Using state-of-the-art technology, the plant will manufacture high-tenacity PA 6.6 yarns for use in differentiated industrial textile applications, with a major focus on the automotive airbag industry.
According to Invista, this investment will make the company the only one to have such capability on the three major continents of Europe, North America and Asia. This development is a part of the company’s planned investment of US$300–400 million in China during the next six months, which Chief Executive Officer and President Jeff Walker announced during a recent visit to Shanghai.

The Chinese manufacturing plant will use the same technology as Invista’s facilities in Gloucester, UK, and Kingston, Canada, allowing the manufacturer to produce the same types of advanced technical yarn in each major region of the world, so meeting the needs of global customers as well as specialized products tailored to local needs.

Commenting on the planned Chinese facility, Vice President Performance Fibers Nylon Daniel J. Stone said “Our ability to supply global automotive manufacturers with essentially identical products in each region will help them localize their own supply chains more efficiently. We will be making a full range of materials for airbags in this plant, including our most modern high-tenacity low decitex per filament family of products.”

This announcement follows expansions at Invista’s Kingston facility (capacity 5.5 kt) in April this year and at its Gloucester site (3.2 kt) in January 2005. Last week, Germany’s Polyamide Holding Fibers GmbH and Shenma Industrial Co Ltd signed agreements to establish yarn production for airbags in China, as well as a joint venture for marketing them. Invista says it chose Shanghai for the location because of its proximity to major automotive supply chains, as well as possible synergies with the company’s other facilities in the region.

Invista is an integrated fibres and polymers manufacturer with a global presence. It operates five major businesses: Apparel, Interiors, Intermediates, Performance Fibers, and Polymer and Resins.