 |
 |
||||||
[November 2000]
Johnson Matthey opens state of the art process catalyst plant at Royston
Johnson Matthey announces the opening of a new plant at its site in Royston; Hertfordshire to manufacture the latest generations of supported chemical process catalysts. The new facility, which uses state of the art production technology, has the capacity and flexibility to produce several hundred tons of catalyst a year for a wide range of applications.
The plant has been initially designed to manufacture special catalysts for two new BP processes. The first of these, known as LEAPTM, uses fluid bed technology to produce vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), a key intermediate for polymer manufacturing. Johnson Matthey has worked in close partership with BP to optimise the performance of the catalyst for this application by a number of technical enhancements and also to scale up production of the catalyst.
The second BP process is called AVADATM and is used for the manufacture of ethyl acetate in a single step. This new process is simpler than other routes and is suited to locations where feed stocks for the current processes are not competitively available.
While this new facility will initially be used to produce these two catalysts for BP, it is highly versatile and significantly enhances Johnson Matthey's capacity to manufacture a wide range of catalysts for the fine and speciality chemicals industries.
Commenting on the opening of the new process catalyst plant Neil Carson, Executive Director said: "The best results are always achieved when our teams are working in close partnership with our customers and this project, the latest to result from our longstanding collaboration with BP, is a prime example. This new facility is a reflection of Johnson Matthey's strong process catalyst technology and our continuing commitment to supply innovative products to our customers around the world."
ENDS