Ashland plans $89-mn expansion for specialty chemicals in US

Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc, will invest approximately $89 million over the next three years to expand specialty chemical production at its manufacturing facility in Hopewell, Virginia. The majority of the investment will be aimed at expanding production of two key product lines.
 
Ashland said it would increase production of Natrosol hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), used as a thickener in latex paints, by 4,700 metric tons, or approximately 40 percent in Hopewell. The company also will expand capacity for Klucel hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), a high-value technology used to enable time-release delivery in pharmaceutical tablet binders and coatings and other applications, by approximately 50 percent. 
 
The plant expansion is expected to begin during the summer of 2015.
 
"This significant investment demonstrates our continued commitment to meeting the growing needs of our customers. We see good opportunities for growth in these core product lines and this expansion will ensure we are in a strong position to capitalize on those opportunities,” said Luis Fernandez-Moreno, senior vice president of Ashland and president, Ashland Specialty Ingredients.