Houston, Texas-based polyamide 6.6 specialist Ascend Performance Materials has provided details of the planned 10-15% expansion of its value chain – acrylonitrile, adiponitrile, hexamethylene diamine, adipic acid and polymers – announced last year.

The company that regards itself as the world’s largest fully integrated producer of PA 6.6 resin said last year that global demand for its product range across diverse application was growing at 3-4% annually.

Up to 2022, Ascend will add a total of 220,000 t/y to its existing acrylonitrile (ADN) capability of around 400,000 t/y before the project began. The first expansion stage at the US company’s Decatur, Alabama, facility was completed at the end of 2017, adding 50,000 t/y of new capacity. A second 40,000 t/y expansion stage is planned to be completed by the end of 2018, with an additional 180,000 t/y scheduled to be in place by 2022.

CEO Phil McDivitt said Ascend is “committed to supporting the growth of the nylon 6,6 chain globally and has consistently increased capacity throughout the chain as demand increased.” With its latest fifth generation ADN technology, he said the company is able to add capacity without extensive down time.