Borealis, which supplies polyolefins and base chemicals to the auto plastics industry, has officially opened a new polypropylene (PP) compounding plant in Taylorsville, North Carolina, US.
The 50,000 sq ft facility, with a rail siding in place, adds an initial 66m lbs of capacity to strengthen Borealis' and Borouge's global supply capability for thermoplastic olefin (TPO) and short glass fibre (SGF) compounds. Among the first compounds produced in the new facility are those used to make automotive interior and exterior parts for major OEM and various tier suppliers.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
"Borealis has long been committed to the global automotive industry," said Roland Janssen, managing director for North America.
"Adding a compounding facility in North America helps drive our growth while also benefiting our customers through regional supply and product development capabilities."
The plant is ideally located in the southeast region of North America to meet the growing needs of customers. The supplier worked with state and local authorities in North Carolina to buy a brownfield site with the possibility of further expansion that, it said, would benefit both the local economy and the automotive industry.
In addition to compound manufacturing, the facility also features in-house testing and product development.
"The industry is further supported by an experienced commercial and technical team with representatives in both the southeast and the Detroit area," added Janssen.
"The team is ready to introduce products and support customers in their technical implementation of new vehicle programmes."
The factory came on stream on schedule early in the first quarter of 2019 has has been supplying compounds since last February.
