Strengthening both its upstream and downstream portfolios, Huntsman (The Woodlands, Texas / USA; www.huntsman.com) recently announced a USD 135m investment at its methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plants in Geismar, Louisiana / USA as well as Rotterdam / The Netherlands. At the former location, the US company plans to raise output by 50,000 t/y to a total of 500,000 t/y by 2014. The added capacity will be made possible by using its new proprietary processing technology.

The investment in Rotterdam, by contrast, will go towards installing a new MDI splitter and downstream specialty manufacturing units that will enable the company to produce next-generation PU products for automotive, adhesives, coatings and other applications. Expected to be commissioned by the end of March, the unit is capable of handling globally sourced MDI precursor, Huntsman said.

Commenting on the investments, Anthony Hankins, president of the group’s Polyurethanes business unit, said, “The Geismar investment enables us to strengthen our upstream cost leadership position, while the Rotterdam investment gives us greater flexibility to provide downstream, customised products.”

Aside from Geismar and Rotterdam, Huntsman also operates an MDI line in Caojing, Shanghai / China, which – according to Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe capacity database (www.polyglobe.net) turns out 240,000 t/y of MDI.