ExxonMobil Doubles Capacity for Specialty Elastomers in U.K.

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (ExxonMobil) has finished a major project to expand its specialty elastomers manufacturing plant in Newport, Wales, which will boost the company's global manufacturing capacity of Santoprene thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) by 25%.

The project, which Industrial Info reported cost around $6.5 million, supported 130 jobs during construction and has created approximately 35 full-time production jobs. The plant, run by ExxonMobil subsidiary Advanced Elastomer Systems Limited (AES), will now have double the capacity at more than 100,000 tonnes of TPEs per annum and employs more than 100 people. TPEs are products that perform like vulcanized rubber but which can, like many thermoplastics, be processed faster, more efficiently and cheaper. The key advantages over traditional rubber products include easier recycling of scrap, improved environmental attributes, closer and more economical control of dimensions as well as product quality and lower weight. Santoprene accounts for about 45% of the global thermoplastic vulcanized (TPV) market according to ExxonMobil, which discovered it around 40 years ago by accident when working on new polymers for automobile tyres. It is used in a vast range of products from tools and ducting to windows and doors seals in the domestic appliance and auto sectors.

"ExxonMobil has invested substantially to develop our production capacity in Newport," said Tom Van Nuland, AES plant manager. "We are delighted to have both lines on-stream and performing as planned. The decision to invest in the Newport plant, and the quality of the output from the new production lines reflect well on the excellence of our workforce from this part of Wales."

Welsh Government Economy and Transport Minister Ken Skates welcomed the plant's expansion: "It is pleasing to see ExxonMobil's investment at its Newport plant creating 35 new jobs and providing a welcome boost to the Welsh economy. Investment like this not only supports the industry, but also provides a vote of confidence to manufacturing in South Wales. As we prepare to leave the European Union (EU) it is more important than ever that industry looks to innovate, invest and increase productivity wherever possible."

About half of all the TPE produced is used in the automotive industry, where it is used on car windscreens, under-bonnet applications and for interior parts. It is also used in a wide variety of products in the construction industry, and for consumer goods ranging from seals on fridges and washing machines to flexible toothbrushes and kitchen utensils.

ExxonMobil has been increasingly active with its U.K. operations in recent weeks. Industrial Info reported recently that the company had committed to spend more than $1 billion to expand the U.K.'s largest refinery in Fawley. It wants to raise its production of ultra-low-sulphur diesel by almost 45%, or 38,000 barrels per day, along with logistics improvements. For additional information, see May 7, 2019, article - ExxonMobil Pumping $1 Billion into U.K. Refinery.

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