Celanese starts work on new VAE emulsions unit in Singapore

The US-based specialty materials company Celanese Corporation has begun construction of a vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) emulsions production unit at the company’s Jurong Island, Singapore, acetyls facility. The unit is expected to begin production by mid-2016.
 
This unit will be the third VAE investment by Celanese in Asia, demonstrating the company’s commitment to growth and development of its emulsions business in both China and Asia outside China. The Singapore plant will support not only the Southeast Asia market, but also other Asia Pacific countries including India, Australia and New Zealand.
 
“Building a new VAE emulsions unit within the existing Jurong Island facility is a strategic choice for Celanese considering the upstream integration with raw material supplies and the geographic market coverage. Building a VAE plant in Singapore will broaden our network to better serve customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region, primarily in the high-end applications of architectural coatings, building and construction, carpets, and paper industries,” said Mark Murray, vice president and general manager of the Celanese emulsion polymers business.
 
Mark Oberle, senior vice president, Asia, said, “This new vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions facility will build on the capability we have developed over the last 15-plus years in Singapore and we are excited about our continued growth in the region – and in particular in Singapore. This expansion will support Celanese’s global and regional growth strategy to expand our reach into emerging markets by bringing highly successful products such as Celanese EcoVAE – a low odour paint emulsion – from the mature markets of the US and China to the Southeast Asia market.”
 
Celanese created EcoVAE emulsions for use in low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints. These emulsions address formulation and regulatory concerns as well as offer distinct competitive marketing advantages especially among environmentally-conscious consumers. EcoVAE emulsions can be formulated into low-odour and low-to-near-zero VOC interior coatings.
 
Celanese currently operates two vinyl acetate ethylene emulsions units in Nanjing, China. The first began production at the company’s Nanjing integrated chemical complex in 2007, and the second began production at the same complex in 2011.