Oxea Expands Its Global Carboxylic Acids Production And Will Produce Butyric Acid In North America

OBERHAUSEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to increase its operational flexibility the global chemical company Oxea has decided to produce Butyric acid at its North American production site in Bay City, Texas. The existing Carboxylic acids production plant will receive significant upgrading in order to produce the same reliable quality as currently delivered from Marl, Germany. The changes to the unit are expected to be completed in Q3/2009. The expansion in Bay City and process improvements in Marl and Oberhausen will result in an increase of Oxea's global production output of Carboxylic acids by 25-30 percent. Butyric acids find use in the production of flavors and fragrances, lubricants, siccatives (drying agents) and polymer stabilizers.

"This expansion project is aligned with Oxea's strategy to further grow its Carboxylic acids businesses, through a reliable worldwide supply of raw materials at competitive cost", said Dr. Martina Flöel, spokesperson for the Executive Board of Oxea. "We are continuing to pursue our overall strategy of expanding further into growth markets while optimizing and enhancing our own value chain and product portfolio."

"The demand for Butyric acids has increased significantly. Our volume increase project is therefore an example of Oxea's commitment to its customers", stated Miguel Mantas, member of the Oxea Executive Board. "Up to now our American customers received their shipments from Europe. We have now decided to produce high-quality stocks of these acids close to our customers in America and further grow the business in Asia", he added.

Oxea is a global supplier of solvents, polyols and oxo derivatives such as Carboxylic acids, Esters and Amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. The company is an international market leader in the production of Acetates, Alcohols, Amines, Carboxylic acids and Aldehydes. Oxea has annual sales worth about EUR 1.3 billion and employs approximately 1,300 people in Germany (Oberhausen and Marl) and the United States (Bay City and Bishop).

Further information about the global Oxea Group is available at www.oxea-chemicals.com.

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