MATERIALS: Kraton Opens Up Innovation Center

Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc., Houston has opened up the new Kraton Innovation Center in Belpre, Ohio, co-located at the company’s flagship commercial manufacturing site. The function of this pilot facility is to manufacture a wide range of styrenic block copolymer (SBC) type materials in quantities ranging from 55 lbs to 110,000 lbs.

The facility is equipped with high-technology process equipment which broadens the company’s abilities in polymeric chemistry by leveraging unique, less traditional monomers and building blocks to meet customer needs and create innovative applications. This new ability to generate developmental polymer and processing technologies also opens the door to applications and industries where traditional SBCs were unable to participate. The new plant’s “fit-for-purpose” volume scale-up bridges the gap between laboratory and full-scale production of products within the development cycle, enhancing Kraton’s ability to deliver developmental polymers in customizable quantities in record time. It will reduce reliance on Kraton’s commercial manufacturing plants for test runs, resulting in fewer type changes and improved utilization of its manufacturing facilities.

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