Saudi Arabian petrochemicals giant Sabic (Riyad; www.sabic.com) has announced it will expand production of its “Noryl” SA 9000 brand high performance PPE resin in India by the end of 2020 to support growth in the market for high-performance printed circuit boards (PCBs). The boards are used in 5G base stations and high-speed servers. Sabic said the latest output increase, which will build on a 2019 upgrade, will nearly double its capacity in Asia and widen its regional production of the speciality resin “tenfold” against the 2018 level.

Up to now, Sabic has not acknowledged any production facilities in India, although it has offices at several locations across the country. The Saudi group did not reveal an exact location for the current expansion, quantify the increase or disclose total output of the polymer. Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net) shows the Saudi group with two PPO/PPE production facilities – at Bergen op Zoom / The Netherlands and Selkirk, New York / USA – each with capacity of 43,500 t/y.

Sabic said the incremental output gain will help to reduce global lead times for manufacturers of high-performance copper-clad laminates (CCLs), allowing them greater flexibility to meet customer requests for quick turnarounds. Additionally, the expansion will support future product development, it said.