Milliken expands polypropylene clarifier capacity

Milliken is building a plant in Blacksburg, South Carolina, that will expand capacity for its Millad NX 8000 polypropylene clarifier by 50% in 2020. The sorbitol-based product, introduced in 2007, imparts clarity to ordinarily hazy polypropylene, allowing it to compete with clearer plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene. Demand for the product prompted Milliken to push up a planned expansion by 2 years. “It is one of the most successful products in the history of plastic additives and arguably the most important in the past 30 years,” says Allen Jacoby, vice president of Milliken’s plastic additives business.