US plastics compounder and distributor A. Schulman has announced it will increase production capacity for color masterbatches in Europe in order to meet growing market demand.

Three additional extruders will be added at its facilities in Hungary, Italy and Poland. Heinrich Lingnau, senior vice president and general manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the expansion is the third recent significant investment in its masterbatch manufacturing sites.

The Fairlawn, Ohio-headquartered company has also added masterbatch capacity in Changshu, China, and Istanbul, Turkey. A new facility opened at the Changshu High Tech Industrial Park in China’s Jiangsu province in April 2016 in order to meet growing demand. This new plant, Schulman’s second wholly owned plant in the People’s Republic, produces premium color additives for packaging, automotive, agricultural, sports, leisure & home customers both in China and other growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

In Turkey, a new production line is due to start production in spring 2017. Located in the greater Istanbul area, the facility will produce approximately 18,000 t/y of premium additive, white and natural masterbatches for food and industrial packaging customers.