Ashland is responding to strong demand for Natrosol hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) by expanding HEC production across its global network through capacity additions at its facilities in Nanjing, China, and Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands.
The new capacity of 7,000 metric tonnes being added will enable the company to continue supporting the growing needs of its customers. Natrosol HEC is a cellulosic polymer used as an additive in a wide variety of water-based consumer and industrial products including personal care items such as shampoos and shower gels. Ashland has four dedicated HEC manufacturing facilities located in the US, the Netherlands and China that enable Ashland to respond to changing market requirements and increase the security of supply to its customers. “Ashland is committed to having sufficient manufacturing capacity available to serve our customers,” said John Panichella, president, Ashland Specialty Ingredients. “I am extremely pleased with the success of the Nanjing facility and particularly proud that we anticipated the needs of the market by building a world-class hydroxyethylcellulose plant in Asia to support our customers. We had a very successful phase one start-up of this facility. Now, to help our customers capitalise on future growth opportunities, we are moving forward with phase two of the project to add additional capacity.”
