Victrex successfully commissions first production stream of new PAEK plant

Victrex has announced it has successfully commissioned the first production stream of its £90 million third Polyaryletherketone (PAEK) manufacturing plant in northern England.

The recent investements at the company’s site in Thornton Cleveleys increase its production capacity by 70 per cent to over 7,000 tonnes per year. Alongside its PAEK resin capacity, it has also continued its downstream investment in APTIV film, pipe, tape and medical components.

“We are continuing to move from being simply a materials manufacturer to a solutions provider,” explained David Hummel, Chief Executive of Victrex. “Already today we are able to fill gaps in the market by delivering semi-finished and finished components such as APTIV films or medical applications. With the third production facility we are in a position to offer sustained security of supply, which is, along with rigorous quality, critical to our customers.”

Victrex says the new PEAK plant serves as the “backbone” for it to develop core growth and future opportunities, where it is focusing on a smaller number of larger opportunities in automotive, aerospace, energy, electronics and medical markets.  

Victrex recently identified the overall market potential for the high-performing thermoplastic PAEK as being over 80,000 tonnes.