Chemical company Oxea last Wednesday announced that it successfully commenced operations at its new state-of-the-art plant for the production of carboxylic acids in Oberhausen, Germany. This new facility will boost Oxea’s global carboxylic acid production capacity by around 40 percent. The production plant is Oxea’s fifth for carboxylic acids worldwide. It was completed after a construction period of just fifteen months.

“Our latest carboxylic acid plant addresses the continually increasing demand of our international customers. Growing environmental awareness of both businesses and consumers drive demand for our synthetic fatty acids, which can be used in the manufacture of products such as energy-efficient lubricants or phthalate-free plasticizers,“ said Miguel Mantas, responsible for Sales and Marketing on Oxea’s Executive Board. “The new plant further adds to Oxea’s flexibility and supply capacity and enables us to further expand our position as the world’s leading supplier of carboxylic acids with the broadest product portfolio in the market,” Mantas continued.

“We combined our latest technologies in the new carboxylic acid plant, putting special emphasis on sustainable production. As a result, we managed to further improve energy efficiency, optimize heat recovery and reduce waste. In keeping with the spirit of Oxea’s sustainability program, our other carboxylic acid plants in Oberhausen, Marl and Bay City will also benefit from this through continuous production improvements,” said Dr. Martina Flöel, spokesperson for Oxea’s Executive Board.

Oxea is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. In 2012, Oxea generated revenue of about EUR 1.5 billion with its 1,406 employees in Europe, the Americas and Asia.