Celanese Announces Global Capacity Expansions to Support Significant Growth in Engineered Materials Business

Mon, October 16 2017

Expansions to Occur within Company’s Compounding, LFT and UHMW-PE Assets

DALLAS, AMSTERDAM & SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE), a global technology and specialty materials company, today announced plans to expand the capacity of its global compounding assets and certain product-specific manufacturing production sites to support the significant growth in its engineered materials business.

“As the global demand for specialty materials increases in key industries such as medical, automotive, consumer goods and electronics, Celanese is partnering with our customers to deliver the innovative materials found in products that consumers around the world use every day,” said Scott Richardson, senior vice president, Celanese engineered materials business. “These planned capacity expansions at selected Celanese facilities – along with our recent acquisitions – will enable us to continue to support a growing and diverse customer base and respond to the increasing need for compounded specialty materials, long-fiber thermoplastics and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.”

Expansions are planned within the global Celanese manufacturing network as follows:

1. Compounding Capacity Expansions

• In the Asia region, Celanese will add two production lines at its Nanjing, China, facility and one production line at its recently acquired Suzhou, China, facility.
• In the Americas region, Celanese will add two production lines at its Florence, Kentucky, facility, as well as expand compounding production capacity at its Bishop, Texas, facility.
• In the European region, Celanese will add one new production line at its recently acquired Forli, Italy, facility.

Celanese expects these new production lines and expansions will add approximately 50-60kt per year in compounding capacity. The company also expects through the debottlenecking of existing global production lines to see an additional 10-15kt per year capacity of compounded material production capability.

2. Celstran® LFT Capacity Expansions

• In the Americas region, Celanese is in the process of adding one new Celstran® long-fiber thermoplastics (LFT) production line at its Winona, Minnesota, facility as well as debottlenecking existing production lines at this facility.

The company expects through this expansion and the debottlenecking of existing global LFT production lines to see an additional 9kt per year of capacity.

3. GUR® UHMW-PE Capacity Expansions

• In the Asia region, Celanese is in the planning stages of one new GUR® ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) production line at its Nanjing, China, facility.

The company expects this new production line to add approximately 15kt per year of new GUR® UHMW-PE product capacity.

These projects announced today are expected to be completed in the 2018-2019 timeframe and financial details are not being disclosed at this time.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our two complementary business cores, Acetyl Chain and Materials Solutions, use the full breadth of Celanese’s global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for our customers 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 7,500 employees worldwide and had 2016 net sales of $5.4 billion. For more information about Celanese and our product offerings, visit www.celanese.com or our blog at www.celaneseblog.com.

All registered trademarks are owned by Celanese International Corporation or its affiliates. Fortron® is a registered trademark of Fortron Industries LLC, used by Celanese Corporation under license.

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, including the announced acquisition. 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, including with respect to the acquisition. Numerous 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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Celanese Corporation
Investor Relations:
Surabhi Varshney, +1 972-443-3078
surabhi.varshney@celanese.com
or
Media Relations – Global:
W. Travis Jacobsen, +1 972-443-3750
william.jacobsen@celanese.com
or
Media Relations Asia (Shanghai):
Helen Zhang, +86 21 3861 9279
lan.zhang@celanese.com
or
Media Relations Europe (Germany):
Jens Kurth, +49(0)69 45009 1574
j.kurth@celanese.com

Source: Celanese Corporation