CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH - Emerald Polymer Additives, a business group of Emerald Performance Materials, has completed a series of process control upgrades for its U.S.-based rubber accelerators product line in Henry, IL. The upgrades will help improve productivity and facilitate development of new technologies. To support increased capacity as a result of the upgrade process, the company also expanded its process engineering staff to include dedicated technical resources for each of the product platforms.

Emerald has been producing the rubber accelerator line at the Henry plant for more than 30 years and has a strong legacy of over 70 years serving the rubber industry through its predecessor organization, BF Goodrich. Key rubber accelerators include a selection of low- and no-nitrosamine products such as Cure-Rite^® 18, BBTS, OBTS and MBDS. The company also produces antioxidants, such as Good-Rite^® Resin D, a key product for industrial rubber and tire applications. Due to the exit of numerous chemical companies from the rubber chemical manufacturing industry in North America, Emerald remains one of the few U.S. producers and, in some product categories, the sole U.S. producer of these key accelerators and antioxidants.