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Clariant Masterbatches Division, a supplier of color and additive masterbatches, announced a new Latin American Business Unit Headquarters in Brazil and a new manufacturing plant in Argentina.
According to the company, plastics industry processors in Brazil, Argentina, and neighboring countries can now expect improved access to technical services and accelerated response times as Clariant Masterbatches has expanded its operations in the region.
Headquarters for the new Latin American Masterbatches is located near the main offices of important Brazilian customers, says Sergio Mastrorosa, head of Clariant Masterbatches, Latin America, and will allow Masterbatches to maximize synergy with other Clariant divisions, particularly Pigments and Additives, which has a technical development laboratory in the same facility.
The new 2,700-sq-m headquarters, which includes a manufacturing plant, is located in Suzano, Brazil, on a site that already is home to four other Clariant divisions. The project, which involved an investment of U.S. $1.1 million, includes installation of silo-storage and pneumatic-conveying systems, which will improve efficiency and speed to market.
The company also announced that it opened a production facility in Lomas de Zamora. The new 1,000-sq-m is located in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and includes a manufacturing plant and a collaborative design center, ColorWorks(TM) Studio -- unique in South America -- where Clariant helps customers develop color and technical solutions. The first stage of the Masterbatches project includes two compounding lines geared toward production of additive and color masterbatches for polyolefin resins. The company anticipates further growth over the next 3 years, with new capacity added along with additional hiring in production, technical service, and marketing.
The Sao Paulo ColorWorks Studio provides selected customers with tools and technology to develop color and additive masterbatch solutions during the early stages of product development. Customers can evaluate new colors and visual effects under ideal conditions and shorten time-to-market by taking advantage of on-site laboratory and production capabilities.
"Argentina is this second largest economy in South America (after Brazil)," Mr. Mastrorosa said. "The economy of the region and the plastics processing industry has grown steadily since the recent economic crisis began to ease after Argentina refinanced its debt in 2003. Our new manufacturing facility will allow us to better serve our customers as their business expands. Our objective is to be able to develop, test and produce masterbatch compounds, ready for production, in one week."
Clariant Masterbatches products are marketed under five global trade names: REMAFIN(R) masterbatches for olefins; RENOL(R) masterbatches for engineering resins, styrenics and PVC; CESA(R) additive masterbatches; HYDROCEROL(R) chemical foaming and nucleating agents; and OMNICOLOR(R) universal color masterbatches.
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