Nouryon, a global specialty chemicals provider, announced that it has started full-scale production at its new Expancel^® expandable microspheres plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The company said the launch of its new plant is an important milestone to better serve specialty additives customers in North America in the packaging, construction, mining and automotive industries, and complements existing full-scale plants in Sundsvall, Sweden, and product expansion facilities in China and Brazil.

Expancel expandable microspheres are used as a lightweight filler and blowing agent to make customers’ end products lighter, incorporate high-performing insulation properties or better reflect light to reduce energy consumption, cost and environmental impact. These properties are valued across a number of applications including cool roof coatings and automotive coatings and body fillers.

“Nouryon continues to invest in developing solutions that support our customers’ sustainability targets while boosting the performance of their end-products,” said Larry Ryan, president at Nouryon. “Our customers around the world rely on our Expancel expandable microspheres and we are pleased to expand our capacity to meet growing demand.”

Customers also use Expancel expandable microspheres to enhance products in applications including curbside recyclable packaging materials, freeze- and thaw-resistant concrete, as well as sealants and coatings applications in the construction industry where prevention of cracks and water absorption are essential to prolong the life of weather-exposed building materials.

“Nouryon is seeing a marked increase in demand for expandable microspheres, particularly in the packaging, construction, mining and automotive industries and we are pleased to open a full-scale manufacturing facility to support our customers in North America,” said Sylvia Winkel Pettersson, vice president engineered polymers at Nouryon. “This investment underscores our dedication to growing with our customers.”

For more information, visit: www.nouryon.com.