Arkema Pours Money Into Molecular Sieves

France’s Arkema will invest almost $70 million to double its capacity for making molecular sieves in Honfleur, France. The project is due to come onstream in the summer of 2016 and create 15 new jobs. The market for molecular sieves is growing at 6 to 7% annually, the company says, in applications such as aromatics separation. Meanwhile, Arkema says it is on track to generate pretax profits of $1.4 billion in 2017, up from less than $900 million in 2014. It intends to accelerate development of performance materials through innovation, acquisitions, and the Bostik adhesives business it bought in 2014.