Mexico’s Alpek will boost capacity for expandable polystyrene (EPS) at Altamira by 75,000 t/y, taking total production to 240,000 t/y. Construction work is scheduled to start next year with completion expected by the end of 2017.

The company has also signed an agreement to acquire BASF’s 20,000 t/y EPS plant in Concon, Chile. Alpek expects the transaction to close by early 2016. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Both these initiatives will increase Alpek’s EPS capacity by around 40%, the company said.

Alpek took over BASF’s EPS operations in North and South America last year when the two companies restructured their Mexican joint venture Polioles.

In addition, the Mexican company has started a project at Pearl River, Mississippi, USA, to raise polyester fiber capacity by 110,000 t/y in order to meet growing demand. The expansion is due to be completed by the end of 2016.