SOLUTIA Inc, a US-based high-performance materials and specialty chemicals company, plans to reinvest to double the capacity of its plant in Kuantan, Pahang, making the site the largest insoluble sulphur manufacturing facility in the world- Solutia's director of corporate communications, Melissa Hammonds Zona, said the expansion plan will allow the company to build on the proven success of its Kuantan facility and further strengthen the company's reliability of supply in the broader Asia Pacific region- "The Kuantan site is important because of growth potential for insoluble sulphur in the Asia Pacific region," she said in response to Business Times' query via email- In January, Solutia had announced that it will expand the current Crystex insoluble sulphur operations in Kuantan as part of the company's strategic plan to remain the leading global supplier of insoluble sulphur- "This expansion will double the current capacity, making Solutia's Kuantan site the largest insoluble sulphur manufacturing facility in the world," Zona said- However, she declined to disclose the current production capacity at the Kuantan site, as well as the amount of investment ready to be poured into the expansion plan- Zona said that Kuantan was chosen for Solutia's expansion plan following a rigorous selection process, which recognised the site's efficient operations, high quality workforce and its ability to serve the rapidly growing markets of both China and India- "Besides, the excellent support from the Malaysian federal and state governments ever since our presence here has been one of the key factors for the decision- Solutia is also impressed with the government's high awareness of the importance to protect Solutia's intellectual property," she said- "We are confident the Kuantan site will continue to operate at the high level it has established in the past years," she said-Zona said the Kuantan facility manufactures Crystex insoluble sulphur, the vulcanising agent of choice for critical applications in the tyre industry, providing the highest level of quality, consistency and performance- With its headquarters in St Louis, Missouri, Solutia operates globally with about 3,300 employees in more than 50 worldwide locations- Of these locations, Solutia produces Crystex insoluble sulphur at seven sites around the world, including facilities in Kuantan and Kashima in Japan-Zona said Crystex insoluble sulphur is the most reliable, cost effective and consistent insoluble sulphur produced-Insoluble sulphur is a necessary component in the production of a radial tyre-...

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