French chemicals and plastics producer Arkema has started up a new €20 million production line for ultra-high-performance polyamide 12 powders at its site in Mont, France in the Pyrenees. The investment widens the company’s global capacity by more than 50%.

Arkema said the new output capability will help meet rising demand for fast-growing niche industrial applications, in particular in the coatings, personal care, composites and 3D printing markets as well as boosting the Colombes- based company’s strategy to develop advanced materials lines.

Marketed under the brand name Orgasol, the powders used as performance formulations for the coatings and personal care markets in addition to advanced composite materials for aerospace and increasingly in the fast-growing 3D printing market, are characterized by narrow particle-size distribution toughness, Arkema said.

“The Mont site has a long, proven legacy in the production of specialty powders. With this new production capacity, we continue to actively support our customers’ continued growth in cutting edge applications, notably in high performance coatings, composites and 3D printing,” said Erwoan Pezron, global president of the French company’s Technical Polymers business line.