MOSCOW (MRC) -- DAK Americas LLC (DAK) announces an increase in its Polyester Staple Fiber (PSF) capacity of 230 million lbs/yr to meet growing demand in the Americas, said the producer in its press release.
The new fiber capacity will be installed at DAK's Pearl River Site in Bay St. Louis, MS with project start- up in the second half of 2016.
"DAK is proud to expand its Trade Leading Fiber offerings for low, mid, and high tenacity fibers engineered for textile and nonwoven applications", according to Mark Ruday, Vice President, DAK Americas Fibers Business Unit. Production will focus on lower denier fibers, but will have the capability to produce fiber products from 0.9 to 9.0 denier.
"DAK's ability to utilize considerable infrastructure currently in place at its Pearl River Site, provides us with a unique opportunity to grow our fiber capacity and meet customer demand with a very competitive investment", stated Jorge Young, DAK President and CEO. Furthermore, "the new fiber facility at the Pearl River Site geographically strengthens DAK's ability to supply PSF across the Americas with a second U.S. fiber manufacturing location and places DAK in a good position to service the growing Mexico fiber market."
The project will create 86 new full time positions including operations, maintenance, technical and management roles on-site. DAK recently completed a PSF expansion (announced Oct. 2014) at DAK's facility near Charleston, SC adding 27 Million lbs/yr of PSF capacity. Upon completion of the Pearl River Site Fibers expansion, DAK's total PSF sales capacity in NAFTA will be about 700 Million lbs/yr. The Pearl River Site will continue to produce high quality Laser PET Resins in support of customers in the region.
As MRC informed earlier, last June DAK Americas expected to introduce local production of its heat-set Laser+HS PET resin for hot-fill applications with PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. in the third quarter of this year, a product long available in the United States but under review by Argentine clients for more than two years
DAK Americas is one of the largest producers of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins, used in carbonated soft drink and water bottles. It also makes terephthalic acid (TPA) monomers, used in PSF and PET products, and specialty polymers, sold in markets such as film and packaging and nonwovens. DAK Americas maintains manufacturing facilities in the Carolinas and Mississippi in the US as well as in Mexico. Alpek, a subsidiary of Mexican industrial giant Alfa, S.A. de C.V., owns DAK Americas.
MRC