Kraton adding styrenic elastomers capacity

Houston, Texas – Kraton Corp. is planning to ‘significantly expand’ its production capacity for styrene-butadiene block (SBS) copolymers in the US in response to growing demand.

The project will raise annual capacity at Kraton’s Belpre, Ohio site by 24 kilotonnes from 2025, the company announced 29 March.

The Kraton statement did not state what the existing SBS output capacity of the plant is.

"This expansion supports our growth strategy and our customer's growing demand for SBS in North America," said Holger Jung, Kraton Polymers CEO.

"Global supply-chain challenges and force majeure situations in 2022 impacted our business, but we have successfully navigated and emerged stronger,” he added.

The project, Jung continued, will secure a reliable and effective supply for Kraton’s customers with “consistent quality”.

Furthermore, Kraton said it is exploring additional manufacturing expansion opportunities to grow its SBS capacity in the North America region.

Application areas for SBS thermoplastic elastomer compounds include: automotive, adhesives; medical tubing and stoppers; and sealants & coatings.