US chemical producer Celanese plans to expand manufacturing capability at its Suzano, Brazil, site by 2015 to include Celstran long fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (LFRT).

At the Brazilian site, Celanese already compounds Hostaform, Celcon acetal copolymer (POM) and Celanex / Vandar thermoplastic polyester (PBT) products for customers in Brazil and Latin America.

"The addition of Celstran manufacturing capabilities to our existing site outside Sao Paulo is part of the Celanese growth strategy to directly serve our customers in Brazil and Latin America," said Phil McDivitt, vice president and general manager of the engineered materials business at Celanese. He said the company sees healthy growth potential, especially in automotive applications.

Celanese will be the first local producer of LFRT, according to Stefan Kutta, the company's global director for the automotive industry.

Guert Rucker, commercial director, South America, said the new Celanese output in Brazil will also help the company address its customers' needs for value chain localization of raw materials.