Evonik expands production of organic dispersions for heat sealing applications

• Increased supply of DEGACRYL^® heat seal binders to meet market demand for environmentally friendly food packaging
• Plant expansion onstream since August
• Enables more joint projects with customers to develop sustainable packaging solutions

Essen/Darmstadt, Germany.  Evonik has expanded its production capacity for organic dispersions used for heat sealing applications.  Since the beginning of August, a significantly expanded plant at the Darmstadt site has been supplying additional material.  The specialty chemicals company is supporting its customers in the packaging industry and their demand for easier recycling of plastic packaging.

Evonik markets the methacrylate binders under the brand name DEGACRYL^®.  The binders are used to formulate heat seal lacquers that securely seal food and beverage packaging.  They provide direct adhesion to aluminum and PET lid structures, which enables primerless and efficient processing by customers.  Additionally, they are applicable at a low coating weight while performing consistent opening behavior.

Roberto Vila-Keller, Head of the Coating & Adhesive Resins Business Line at Evonik, said, "The current dynamics in the flexible packaging market is leading us away from multilayer structures and towards mono material packaging.  Therefore, we are seeing a significant increase in demand for our DEGACRYL^® heat seal binders.  Our employees are working on sustainable packaging solutions on a global scale and along the entire value chain."

Dr. Peter Neugebauer, Business Director Specialty Acrylics at Coating & Adhesive Resins, said, "This plant expansion is an important project for our Darmstadt site.  Of course, our experienced employees are crucial here: we were able to transfer their specific knowledge and experience regarding the construction, operation, and maintenance of the existing plant to the new plant.  This synergy was a decisive success factor to deliver the project on time."

The next step will be to transfer joint customer projects with innovative, sustainable packaging materials to the product launch phase.  DEGACRYL^® heat seal binders not only ensure a secure closure, but also easy recycling of the packaging.

Company information

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of €12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers. More than 33,000 employees work together for a common purpose: We want to improve life today and tomorrow.

Asia Pacific is a strong driving force of the global economy and an important source of innovation.  Consequently Evonik endeavors to further grow its business in the region.  Sales reached €2.84 billion in 2020 and the company employs over 5,000 people at more than 50 production sites in Asia Pacific.  In Taiwan, we now employ over 200 employees which including 1 office based in Taipei and 1 production site based in Taoyuan.

About Smart Materials
The Smart Materials division includes businesses with innovative materials that enable resource-saving solutions and replace conventional materials. They are the smart answer to the major challenges of our time: environment, energy efficiency, urbanization, mobility and health. The Smart Materials division generated sales of around €3.24 billion in 2020 with about 7,900 employees.

Disclaimer

In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties.  Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment.  Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.