Performance Fibers, which was integrated into Indorama Ventures (IVL) a year ago, is expanding its tire cord fabric production capacity in China.

The expansion plan has been announced after the IVL board approved Performance Fibers’ construction of a fully integrated dipping unit adjacent to the current production facility in Kaiping, Guangdong.

The expansion is the first major strategic move by IVL to support the organic growth of Performance Fibers, which is amongst the top premium suppliers of polyester tire cord fabrics to the tire industry.

The new unit is expected to commence production in 2018. It will be timely for Performance Fibers to support the expected demand growth of new products developed from various technology platforms.

“The expansion represents an increase in our tire cord fabric production capacity by over 40 per cent and our commitment to support our customers’ growth plan,” said Derek Chan, president of Performance Fibers.

“Indorama Ventures views the automotive market as a strategic focus of future expansion and we view Performance Fibers to be the growth engine of our automotive business segment. Capacity expansion at the current site in Kaiping is a critical first move in our strategic plan while we are investigating how to invest further to increase our global manufacture footprint,” remarked Uday Gill, president of Fibers and Yarns, IVL. (RKS)