Kuraray America Inc. recently announced the approval of a project to increase its EVAL™ (ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer resin) production capacity by more than 17 million lbs (8,000 tons) per year at a cost of $49 million. The debottleneck of facilities at the Pasadena, TX, plant raises production capacity to 104 million lbs (47,000 tons) annually. The project will be completed by January 2014.

“EVAL resins have so many benefits over materials like glass, steel and other plastics that it’s not surprising how significantly demand has grown, particularly in innovative applications in barrier food packaging, environmental protection, and personal protection,” said George Avdey, president of the EVAL business unit.

Kuraray has manufacturing plants for EVAL resin located in Pasadena, TX; Okayama, Japan; and Antwerp, Belgium. Following the expansion, the company’s combined global capacity will reportedly be 180 million lbs (81,000 tons) per year.

For more information, visit www.kuraray.com.