Wolff Cellulosics To Build Production Plant In U.S.
First U.S. Plant Will Manufacture Walocel M Methylcellulose (MC) Building Products Additive
Pittsburgh - Wolff Cellulosics, a Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) company, headquartered in Germany, announced that it plans to build a new methylcellulose (MC) production plant in the U.S.
The proposed plant is intended to produce Walocel M, a construction material additive. Walocel M improves the quality and properties of minerally-bound construction materials such as plasters, ceramic tile adhesives and emulsion paints.
The plant would be the first Wolff Cellulosics production facility in the U.S. and would have an annual capacity of more than 10,000 tons. Subject to the relevant approvals, start up is planned for mid-2008. "We want to strengthen our overall position in the methylcellulose market as the supplier of choice for the construction industry. Our objective is to better serve the growing American market," said Dieter Herzog, Managing Director of Wolff Cellulosics.
"This step would further expand Bayer's presence in the dynamic U.S. chemistry market, which is essential to so many other U.S. industries," added Greg Babe, President and CEO of Bayer MaterialScience LLC.
More about Wolff Cellulosics
Wolff Cellulosics is a leading manufacturer of methylcellulose. Walocel M helps control crucial properties including rheology, dispersion, water demand and water retention in plasters, adhesives and paints. Wolff Cellulosics North America is based in Willowbrook, Illinois and serves customers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Wolff Cellulosics is the center of excellence for cellulose chemistry within Bayer MaterialScience. With 660 employees worldwide, the company had annual sales revenue of about Euro 230 million in 2004. Its cellulose derivatives are used as additives for building materials and as raw materials for printing inks and surface coatings. High-purity cellulose derivatives are also used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. At its state-of-the-art pilot plant in the Industrial Park Walsrode, Germany, Wolff Cellulosics develops new products and technologies for the production and processing of synthetic derivatives of the renewable raw material cellulose.
SOURCE: Bayer MaterialScience LLC