BAYTOWN SUN
Monday,
March 31, 1975
Upjohn Expansion Set LA PORTE (Sp) --
Upjohn's Polymer Chemicals Plant in La Porte has a $20
million expansion program which will increase its capacity
by 50 per cent. Charles Ludlow, Upjohn's vice president and
treasurer, said, "This expansion brings our capacity of
isocyanates to 300 million pounds per year. Since urethane
chemicals have suffered supply constraints similar to other
plastics materials our new capacity will enable us to serve
customer needs more fully." Keith H. Edmondson, Vice
President and General Manager of Upjohn's Chemical Division,
told a Medical Industries Specialties Group that about 90
per cent of Upjohn La Porte capacity goes into products
based on polymethylenediphenyl isocyan- ate (PAPI) and
methylenedi- phenyl isocyanbate (MDI).
The remaining
production is in other isocyanates, polyols, and urethanes
products. "These isocyanates and urethane chemicals are used
for a wide range of products. PAPI is used primarily for
urethane foams for building and transportation insulation,
automotive seating and safety padding, and furniture and
industrial parts. Pure MDI has its principal markets in
elastomers, coatings and adhesives.
In La Porte, C.
J. Thomas, Vice President of the Polymer Chemicals Division,
commented "We stockpiled pumps, tubes, and pipes in
anticipation of the plant expansion. When the time came we
had almost everything we needed without encountering
today's long lead times for delivery of process equipment"