Solvay opens highly dispersible silica plant in Poland

Solvay on July 1, 2015 begun commercial production of highly dispersible silica (HDS) at its new plant in Wloclawek, Poland, to address strong and growing regional demand for energy saving tyres. With 85,000 tonnes of annual capacity dedicated to Solvay's latest HDS technologies it will create more than 100 jobs in the Pomeranian region.
 
An Nuyttens, president of Solvay's silica global business unit, said, “From this plant Solvay will deliver customers in Central and Eastern Europe its latest breakthrough tyre solutions which contribute to cleaner and more competitive mobility. Through its global market reach, innovation capabilities and increasing number of applications in passenger and truck tyres, Solvay is best-placed to meet growth opportunities in improving their performance and in lowering CO2 emissions.”
 
The site will produce the most advanced grades of highly dispersible silica, a reinforcing agent in the tyre rubber that reduces a vehicle's fuel consumption by as much as 7 percent. Solvay's HDS brands include Zeosil Premium and Efficium, another Solvay Silica invention, which helps tire makers to raise productivity levels for both car and truck tyre compounds.
 
With Wloclawek, Solvay's silica has a strong global footprint with 9 sites close to customers across Europe, South America, North America and in Asia. In South Korea, Solvay is building a plant which will also produce Efficium and, once on stream, raise Solvay's annual silica capacity by close to 50 percent between 2014 and 2016.