Leading manufacturer of textile dyes and chemicals, Huntsman Textile Effects opened a new specialty synthesis unit yesterday, further strengthening its manufacturing capability and presence in the Asian textiles market by upgrading its existing reactive dyes facility at Mahachai.

This, Huntsman says, will further expand Mahachai's comprehensive range of capabilities and award-winning operations. The newly installed unit specializes in the production of Textile Effects' flagship reactive dyes, including those incorporating Huntsman's proprietary fluorotriazine (CF3) chemistries. The inauguration ceremony was chaired by Peter Huntsman, President and CEO of Huntsman Corporation.

According to Huntsman, with the new investment, the Mahachai Specialty Synthesis Unit forms a key part of its global manufacturing footprint. In addition to the Formulation Distribution Center co-located at the site, these assets position HTE to deliver on its commitment for enhanced speed and flexibility to customers in the region, especially in key markets such as India, China and Indonesia.

"The inauguration of the Mahachai Specialty Synthesis Unit is a demonstration of our commitment to Thailand as well as our confidence in the growth of the textile industry in the Asia Pacific region.  This new investment will firmly position Huntsman as a truly competitive global and regional dyes and chemical manufacturer," said Paul Hulme, President for Textile Effects. "This synthesis unit is the only one in its class in terms of scale and quality of output which underpins our drive to be a leader in technological innovation in our industry."

This world class centre for the production of reactive dyes was upgraded recently at a cost of $12.5 million bringing the total investment to $17.5 million, comprising of a $5 million investment which was previously made in 2008 to make the facility a global centre for the production of wool dyes.

Huntsman says the site is equipped with state-of-the-art proprietary technology which boosts production capacity and efficiency while exceeding the most stringent global environmental and safety standards.

“With this new specialty synthesis unit installed, the Mahachai facility secures its position as a crucial global supply point for reactive dyes and increases the company's service capability especially for the growing Asia market and also provides a strong platform to serve Textile Effects' customers outside of Asia,” the company said.

Innovative dyes

Huntsman was in the news recently when it announced it was partnering the Netherlands’ DyeCoo Textile Systems to develop and grow DyeCoo’s Supercritical CO2 textile processing technology with the aim of creating more sustainable products which will benefit the industry as a whole.

By using recycled carbon dioxide as the application medium, DyeCoo’s innovative technology completely eliminates the use of water in the textile dyeing process. However, the new technology requires innovation in dye and chemical products as the applications expand in order to obtain the high level of colour fastness and performance that consumers demand and this is where Huntsman comes in.

Further reading

Huntsman partners DyeCoo in waterless dyeing technology