SI Group to open new plant for antioxidant production in China

Performance additives maker SI Group is opening a new plant to make Weston 705-brand antioxidants in Danyang, China by May 2021.

In a news release, officials with the Schenectady, N.Y.-based company said that the additional sourcing point for this strategic antioxidant product will further increase security of supply for SI Group’s global customer base and will enable quicker expansion of the product in China and the rest of Asia Pacific region through compressed lead time and simplified logistics.

Until now, SI Group has supplied the Chinese market with Weston 705 from its U.S. plant in Morgantown, W.Va.

SI Group officials describe Weston 705 as a modern liquid phosphite antioxidant that offers global regulatory compliance combined with a superior performance profile compared to the incumbent solutions. “It represents an industrially proven drop-in substitute to TNPP in most of its applications and can be deployed in a broad range of polyolefins and other plastics and elastomers that require stabilization,” SI Group said. The material meets most food contact standards and also offers lower discolouration.

“This is a prime example of our investment in the Asia Pacific region,” said David Lu, SI Group’s vice president and managing director, Asia Pacific. “We are committed to developing leading solutions that meet our customers’ needs with the global footprint to support reliable supply.”