Celanese Announces GUR® Capacity Expansion at Bishop, Texas Engineered Materials Manufacturing Facility

Fri, October 23 2020

Lithium-ion battery growth drives significant demand for Celanese GUR®

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global chemical and specialty materials company, today announced the addition of a new GUR® ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) production line at its Bishop, Texas manufacturing facility to support the significant growth in its high-value GUR® engineered materials portfolio.

“Electric vehicle demand is expected to have a compounded annual growth rate of greater than 25 percent through 2025, resulting in strong demand for Celanese GUR® for lithium-ion battery separators,” said Tom Kelly, Celanese Senior Vice President, Engineered Materials. “Customers rely on Celanese for a reliable supply of GUR® that meets very stringent quality standards, and our capacity expansion at our Bishop integrated chemical complex will enable Celanese to continue to support a growing and diverse customer base and respond to the increasing need for specialty materials such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.”

This new production line at the Celanese Bishop manufacturing facility is expected to add approximately 15kt per year of GUR® product capacity by the start of 2022.

Following the expansion of GUR® capacity completed in June of 2019 at the company’s Nanjing, China integrated chemical complex, Celanese continues to be the only truly global producer of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene in Asia, North America and Europe, giving Celanese the unique ability to work closely with its customers in all three regions.

“The explosive growth in electric vehicle sales around the world demonstrates that lithium-ion battery separator demand will experience significant growth in Asia and in Europe over the next five years. Celanese, as a reliable materials partner for our customers, is committed to investing further in local manufacturing capabilities to offer unmatched security of supply,” concluded Kelly.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use the full breadth of Celanese's global chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees, shareholders and the corporation. As we partner with our customers to solve their most critical business needs, we strive to make a positive impact on our communities and the world through The Celanese Foundation. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2019 net sales of $6.3 billion. For more information about Celanese Corporation and its product offerings, visit www.celanese.com or our blog at www.celaneseblog.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This release may contain “forward-looking statements,” which include information concerning the company’s plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures and other information that is not historical information. When used in this release, the words “outlook,” “forecast,” “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” and variations of such words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions. There can be no assurance that the Company or its customers will realize these benefits or that these expectations will prove correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Numerous other factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed as forward-looking statements. Other risk factors include those that are discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.

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Investor Relations
Brandon Ayache
+1 972 443 8509
brandon.ayache@celanese.com

Media Relations – Global
W. Travis Jacobsen
+1 972 443 3750
william.jacobsen@celanese.com

Media Relations Europe (Germany)
Petra Czugler
+49 69 45009 1206
petra.czugler@celanese.com

Source: Celanese Corporation