Americhem renovates UK plant

Americhem Europe Ltd., a global provider of colour and additive solutions for polymeric products, is renovating and redesigning the workflow for its manufacturing plant in Manchester, United Kingdom. This proects  represents an investment in the company’s customers and the industry, and the renovations are designed to give the plant a lean, first-class workflow that increases productivity and product quality.

The work at the  plant is a result of a desire to serve customers and to position Americhem  for growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, according to Thomas Weigl, vice president and managing director, EMEA.  

The work is scheduled to be completed in September 2016 and will will result in almost a 100 percent increase in manufacturing capacity, with room for future expansion.  An additional manufacturing line will be added and the remainder of the company’s production equipment will be completely rebuilt, ensuring the highest quality products for Americhem’s customers.

"Automotive is one of Americhem’s core markets and we wanted to respond to the need for superior manufacturing capacity for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tier suppliers,” Mr. Weigl stressed. As part of the global Americhem network that works with OEMs to achieve global in-vehicle color harmony, the company helps assure that colors will be consistent no matter where in the world that automobiles are manufactured.
Additionally, the Manchester plant’s laboratories are being expanded and fitted with a new lab-scale polymeric film line. Other manufacturing pilot lines in the lab include injection molding, extrusion, blow molding and fibre spinning.

Americhem's automotive business has recently been bolstered by the acquisition of Vi-Chem Corporation. Vi-Chem, which is dedicated almost entirely to the automotive industry, is a specialty compounder of PVC and thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), many of which become soft-touch components on the interior and exterior of vehicles. The acquisition was completed 18 March, 2016.