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Zoltek to hike large tow carbon fibre production

12 May '15

2 min read

US based Zoltek Companies, Inc. said, it will double production capacity of large tow carbon fibre at the Zoltek de Mexico facility to 5,000 tons per year, beginning in April 2016.

Zoltek is currently producing large tow carbon fibre at its plants in both Hungary and Mexico and according to a Zoltek press release, this fibre is ideal for applications like wind energy and automotive industries.

It expects that the industry is expected to have a shortage of production capacity of these particular carbon fibres in early 2016.

In anticipation of a tremendous increase in demand for large tow carbon fibre, Zoltek has a plan to double its current global production by 2020 from the current capacity of 13,000 tons per year.

“To support this growth, Zoltek will begin phased enhancements to the Mexican plant,” the press release added.

Zoltek acquired a textile acrylic fibre plant in Mexico in 2007 and had made an investment to convert the plant to carbon fibre production.

According to Zoltek, the Zoltek de Mexico facility has infrastructure needed for expansion and will prove vital for fulfilling the demand of carbon fibre, including future supply to the Mexican automobile industry.

Large tow carbon fibres are those with 40,000 or more number of filaments, produced on modified acrylic staple fiber production line for textile.

A relatively cheaper material, it is used in applications such as wind turbine blades and reinforced plastics compounds.

Zoltek became a member of the Toray Group in February 2014 and has been accelerating its business expansion as the world’s No. 1 company in the large tow carbon fibre field. (AR)

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India