Kraton expanding pine-based tire additives capacity in France

Houston, Texas – Kraton Corp. is making ‘a significant investment’ at its facility in Niort, France to increase production capacity for high bio-content tire performance additives.

In a statement 4 April, the supplier said it expected the investment, the amount of which was not specified, to result in a 15% production increase of alpha methyl styrene (AMS) resins at the French site by 2023.

In addition to the capacity increase, Kraton said it anticipated the investment to lead to a 70% reduction in solvent consumption, thereby creating a "favourable impact" on the product life cycle by the end of 2022.

Kraton's pine-based AMS resins, also known as pure monomer resins, are typically used as tread enhancement additives for tires and as high-performance tackifying resins in fast-growing adhesive markets.

Marketed under the brand Sylvatraxx, the additives are claimed to improve overall performance of tire treads in terms of wet grip, low rolling resistance, and durability.

Kraton said the increasingly stringent car emission standards across the globe have led to ‘substantial growth in demand’ for the additives.

"The rise in electric vehicles (EV) also contributes to this growth, as the increased EV weight and higher torque bring new challenges in tire performance," said Torsten Schmidt, VP commercial, Kraton pine chemicals.

"Our Sylvatraxx products continue to gain popularity across the entire tire value chain as they enable our customers to meet these new requirements," he added.

In recent years, Kraton has made significant investments in AMS Resins at the manufacturing facility in Niort.

In 2018, the supplier expanded the Niort plant capacity by 20% in response to growing demand from the tire industry.

The French plant supplies a wide range of products to the tires industry including pure aromatic monomer resins and aromatically-modified terpene-based resins with a higher renewable content.

In parallel with the current expansion projects, Kraton said it is exploring “additional manufacturing expansion opportunities” at the Niort plant beyond the 2023 horizon.