Sundsvall April 2, 2007 - Eka Chemicals, a business unit of Akzo Nobel, anticipates increasing sales of its expandable micro-spheres, marketed under the Expancel brand. The company plans for considerable investments in the next two years to increase production volume while simultaneously rationalizing production at its Stockvik plant, located south of Sundsvall in Sweden.
- “Our current customers are growing and we are constantly finding new applications for our micro- spheres”, says Niklas Larsson, General Manager of Expancel. “But we are also being affected by increased competition, which forces us to keep our costs down
The planned investments will primarily be aimed at eliminating bottlenecks in production and are estimated to reach some EUR 2 million. Moreover, measures will be taken to meet increasing environmental demands, with approximately EUR 1.5 million to be invested in a new, effluent water-treatment plant.
The investments will affect staffing and it is proposed that a number of positions be removed. A few positions will be discontinued in 2007, with the removal of an additional ten anticipated in 2008. Approximately 500 persons work at Akzo Nobel in Stockvik.
- For the necessary reductions, we count on natural wastage and individual solutions to the extent possible,” says Niklas Larsson. “Our challenge is to grow and simultaneously become more efficient in order to secure a continued prosperous development for Expancel. If we succeed, this will pave the way for considerable investments to further increase our capacity for the future.”
For further information contact
Niklas Larsson, General Manager of Expancel , Phone +46 60 13 40 00
EXPANCEL is used in a number of applications, such as manufacturing of paper and board, coatings, plastic compounds and explosives. The company is a world market leader in the area of thermo-plastic expandable micro-spheres. Ninety-eight percent of Expancel´s production in Stockvik is exported to the world market. The unique feature of the micro-sphere is its ability - when heated - to expand 50 times its original volume.
www.expancel.com