Key project breaks ground in chemical park

Invista’s world-scale adiponitrile (ADN) plant began construction on Tuesday in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in Jinshan District. The construction is one of Shanghai’s 152 major projects for 2020. 

Investment in the plant will total more than 7 billion yuan (US$988 million). When completed in 2022, it will supply 400,000 tons of ADN a year to China and the Asia Pacific region.

Vice Mayor Wu Qing said at the site that “The Shanghai government will continue to support the project and is looking forward to its completion by 2022.”

Ma Jing, director of the park’s administrative committee, said: “Within 10 months, Invista has successfully initiated the construction of the ADN facility with support from all parties. The ADN project enriches the product chain of SCIP while improving the quality of the Shanghai chemical industry.”

On a video link, Jeff Gentry, chairman and CEO of Invista, said: “The growing demand for high-quality nylon products in China and the Asia-Pacific region, and the continued optimization of the business environment in Shanghai give us the confidence to continue investing in Shanghai.”

Adiponitrile is an intermediate chemical used in the production of nylon 6,6 for use in the automobile industry, electrical and electronic industry and in many other consumer and industrial applications.

Bringing ADN technology to China will reduce the country’s dependence on imports with estimated to become the world’s largest consumer of nylon in the next few years, according to Invista.

Invista is one of the world’s largest producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibers. It is owned by Koch Industries, America’s largest privately held company.

Since 2014, it has invested more than 4 billion yuan in manufacturing facilities in the Shanghai park.