Solvay announced today a capacity increase of 70% at its Panoli plant, India, for the production of its high performance polymers KetaSpire polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and AvaSpire polyaryletherketones (PAEK).

Panoli is Solvay's largest plant worldwide for these two ultra performance polymers. Nearly half of this capacity increase has already been implemented and successfully brought on-line. The second phase of the project will be completed by mid 2013 and will allow the plant to continue to satisfy growth in demand.

With this investment, the Group reaches a new milestone in realizing its ambition to double its sales in India by 2015. Last week Solvay announced it is acquiring a controlling stake in Sunshield Chemicals, an Indian company specializing in surfactants, and some months ago it opened a major innovation centre in Savli (Gujarat State). The Group has been doing business in India since 2000 through its Novecare, Engineering Plastics and Specialty Polymers activities. With seven production sites and about 900 employees, the Group generated net sales of €180 million in India in 2011.