Lifocolor s.o.r., the Czech subsidiary of the German producer of colour masterbatches, additive products and compounds, Lifocolor Farben (Lichtenfels; www.lifocolor.de), is to invest more than EUR 4m in a new plant in Brno. At this site in the industrial zone of Cernovická Terasa near the airport of Brno Turañy, Lifocolor has, with 30 employees, been developing and producing colour and additive masterbatches for the plastics processing industry for more than 20 years.

The plant will produce mainly masterbatches for engineering thermoplastics and also for polyolefins and styrenics. The company, certified to ISO 9001:2008, is now planning to build an additional complex with an area of 4,200 m² on a site of around 8,000 m², which should provide sufficient space for further development and new technologies.

The future production facility is scheduled to go on stream in the first half of 2015 and will be equipped for the production of batch sizes of 1-5,000 kg. The planned expansion phase will enable up to 2,000 t of masterbatches a year to be produced. Furthermore, the company also intends to invest in the colour lab and pilot plant.

Standardised raw materials and close connections with the plants in Germany, Poland and France will, says Lifocolor, allow the local production and marketing of high-quality products of identical formulation. The company will also be able to produce customised colour shades even faster and with a higher degree of flexibility through the expansion.