DALLAS/SINGAPORE - Celanese Corp. has started production in its newest vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) production unit. The unit is located at the Celanese manufacturing facility on Jurong Island, Singapore, and will support the growing demand for ecologically friendly materials in the Southeast Asia region including Australia, India and New Zealand.

The Singapore location’s proximity to raw material suppliers offers excellent transportation logistics and gives Celanese the opportunity to increase production capacity to supply more high-demand VAE emulsions products in Singapore as well as across Asia, an area focusing on low-emission products and production.

“Southeast Asia and India are leading the world’s construction demand, especially for infrastructure projects, which drives the region’s heavy demand for important materials such as VAE,” said Mark Oberle, Celanese Senior Vice President and head of Asia operations. “Over the last two decades, Celanese has focused on developing our VAE expertise and a reliable foundation in Singapore so Celanese can be the first-choice, long-term partner for manufacturers across Asia.”

Celanese VAE technology produces clean, ecologically friendly, water-based emulsions. Manufacturers use VAE to produce environmentally friendly products including paints, architectural coatings and adhesives.

The new unit adds a third facility to the company’s VAE investment in Asia and the fourth production unit within this Singapore plant. The first Celanese VAE unit began production at the company’s Nanjing, China, integrated chemical complex, and the second unit started producing VAE emulsions at the same Singapore complex. Celanese announced the groundbreaking of this new Singapore VAE unit in April 2015.

“Asia, especially Southeast Asia, continues to be a bright spot in the global economy and will spur increasing demand for environmentally friendly solutions,” said Mr. Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board. “Celanese’s investment reaffirms our value as a strategic hub for companies looking to ride on Asia’s growth, and we look forward to working with Celanese to further advance their manufacturing capabilities.”