Just two months after its acquisition of Clariant’s (Muttenz / Switzerland; www.clariant.com) conductive compound product line (see Plasteurope.com of 16.03.2012), US engineering thermoplastics compounder RTP Company (Winona, Minnesota; www.rtpcompany.com) has announced an expansion at its site in Ladenburg / Germany that will extend the working area to 9,700 m². The expansion makes room for relocating a compounding line from Clariant’s site in Ahrensburg / Germany – about 600 km north of Ladenburg – and also will allow RTP to install additional pultrusion lines for manufacturing very long fibre composites. The US group also said the expansion – financial details of which were not disclosed – will include a new compounding line, raising overall output in Ladenburg by 8,000 t.

“This expansion was necessary in order for RTP Company to continue to meet the growing demand for engineering thermoplastic compounds in Germany and throughout the industrial regions of Europe,” said group CEO Hugh Miller, adding that since profits from RTP’s very long fibre and conductive compounds businesses are particularly strong, the group believes “it necessary to add additional production capacity in Europe.”

First opened in 2011 (see Plasteurope.com of 05.11.2010), the Ladenburg site is RTP’s second in Europe. The group not only produces custom compounds at the location, but also provides technical support to customers in Germany and throughout Europe. In April this year, the US compounder opened a new technical centre in Shenzhen / China to be better able to serve local customers – see Plasteurope.com of 19.04.2012.