Page 167 - CW E-Magazine (17-6-2025)

News from Abroad

OPTIMISATION STRATEGY
Alpek to close PET facility in US

Mexican petrochemical company
Alpek S.A.B. de C.V. recently announced
that it will cease operations at its Cedar
Creek facility in Fayetteville, North
Carolina (US), by July 31. The closure is
expected to affect 90 employees.

The site, operating as Alpek Poly-
ester USA LLC, was acquired by Alpek
in 2001 and has an installed capacity of
170-ktpa of polyethylene terephthalate
(PET) resin and approximately 35-ktpa
of recycled PET flake production.

In a news release announcing the in the US announced by the company In all, Alpek operates 34 plants
closure, the company said the decision within the last six months. In November across nine countries and produc-
is aligned with its long-term strategy to 2024, Alpek announced that its subsi- es virgin resins, such as PET, EPS,
optimise its global footprint and focus diary, Styropek, would cease production polypropylene (PP), and purified tere-
on its more “competitive and scalable at its BVPV Styrenics LLC facility in phthalic acid (PTA), along with recy-
assets.” Alpek said it will reallocate Monaca, Pennsylvania, affecting approxi- cled PET pellets and flake. Including
production to continue serving its mately 140 workers. The site was built in the soon-to-close facility in Fayette-
customers. the 1940s and acquired by Alpek in 2020, ville, Alpek operates eight facilities in
with an installed capacity of 123-ktpa of the US – five of which produce recycled
The facility closure is the second expanded polystyrene (EPS). resins.

INJECTION MOULDING
Engel unveils new Swiss technology centre

Austrian injection moulding solu- key role in advancing our technologies
tions provider, Engel, has opened a new and services.”
technology centre at its site in Frauen-
feld, Switzerland. The centre will serve as Engel’s
first medical competence centre outside
The new centre includes training of its production plants. The centre is
and office facilities as well as an appli- integrated into Engel’s global structure.
cation centre. At the heart of the In recent years, the company has estab-
installation are two Engel injection lished what it calls a triad structure:
moulding machines: a tie-bar-less victory Europe, Asia and the Americas each
electric in medical configuration with a significantly reducing production form independently operating produc-
clamping force of 500-kN and a fully costs. tion and sales regions that can offer lo-
electric e-mac with 1,000-kN, equipped cally adapted solutions. Engel said its
with an ‘easix’ articulated robot. Both “The Swiss market is among the global manufacturing network, consist-
machines are fitted with the full range most demanding in the world,” said ing of ten production plants in Europe,
of digital assistance systems from the Stefan Engleder, CEO, Engel Group. Asia and Mexico, enables the company
Engel iQ product family. These smart “Many of our customers here are tech- to respond flexibly to market demands,
solutions help processors increase nology leaders in their respective fields. reduce lead times and efficiently imple-
process stability and efficiency while Collaborating with them has played a ment customer-specific adaptations.

Chemical Weekly June 17, 2025 167

Contents Index to Advertisers Index to Products Advertised