Through debottlenecking, German engineering plastics producer Covestro will further expand production capacity for polycarbonate at its Caojing site in Shanghai, China, by a third to 600,000 t/y. The new capacity is expected to be in the market by 2019.

The move follows a previous doubling of capacity from 200,000 t/y to 400,000 t/y, of which the second stage was started up in the third quarter of 2016. Covestro earlier had hinted at further expansion, should demand warrant it. In confirming the expansion plans on May 16, the former Bayer MaterialScience, world’s largest producer of polycarbonate, said it was reacting to “strong customer demand” for the engineering plastic in Asia-Pacific – the company’s PC business is headquartered at Shanghai.

With the new capacity upgrade, the German player will be able to produce 1.5 million t/y globally, cementing its position as the world’s largest producer of the engineering plastic, ahead of Saudi Arabia’s SABIC. The Saudi group acquired long-term industry stalwart GE Plastics in 2007 and now has output capability of 1.3 million t/y.

Covestro’s intention is to produce sufficient volume “to continuously outgrow industry,” said Michelle Jou, global head of the company’s polycarbonate business. “We have grown our capacity share continuously in recent years and are committed to continue this path. This investment is one of the steps we do to secure the necessary supply,” she added.

Jou pointed to “rapidly growing demand” for polycarbonate resins and blends, in particular in China, where industry segments such as electronics, healthcare and automotive are key customer.

“The successful completion of this project will strengthen our global production network and demonstrates our continuous commitment to the Chinese market,” said Covestro’s chief technology officer Klaus Schäfer. He noted that the innovative recycling process technology used at Caojing safeguards the “high level of cost efficiency” at the Chinese site. Process saltwater, for example, is recycled to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide, two chemicals needed as raw materials for polycarbonate.