Swedish chemicals company Perstorp is investing more than €14 million in its feed & food business to meet the growing demands of its customers.

The investment includes expanding its plant in Waspik, the Netherlands, and establishing satellite production plants in Asia and the Americas, which it said will offer a faster, more robust and flexible supply chain. Perstorp did not disclose exact locations of the new plants in Asia and the Americas.

The company added that it plans to double the number of employees in R&D, regulatory affairs, supply chain, operations, marketing and sales, noting that the Waspik plant will be at the center of its feed & food business and home to many of the new staff.

In separate news, the Swedish company said it is expanding capacity for its Pevalen non-phthalate polyester plasticizer from 2019 onward to meet rising demand. As part of a long-term production agreement with Italian firm Alcoplast, it will more than double capacity to 50,000 t/y. Alcoplast took over Perstorp’s plant in Vercelli, Italy, in August.

 “Global demand for non-phthalate plasticizers is predicted to continue to grow with about 100,000 tons per year,” said Markus Jönsson, vice president plasticizers at Perstorp. “In the recent past, satisfying the market demand has been very challenging. In addition, the partnership with Alcoplast will enable us to add other complementary plasticizers to our portfolio.”

Perstorp is already planning further investments to raise capacity of Pevalen beyond 100,000 t/y and said these will be timed to meet future market demand.