Eastman Expands Kingsport Tritan Production Capacity by 17,000 Tonnes a Year

USA-based Eastman Chemical Company has announced plans to increase production capacity for its Tritan brand of copolyester at its facility at the company's headquarters in Kingsport, Tennessee. Through a series of capital projects, the company plans to expand annual capacity from 60,000 metric tonnes to 76,000 metric tonnes to meet increasing demand for the material. The projects are expected to be completed by mid-2014.  

“Eastman continues to experience strong global demand for Tritan,” said Lucian Boldea, vice president and general manager of Advanced Materials—Specialty Plastics at Eastman. “We are gaining traction in markets such as medical, durable goods and infant care. This investment in Tritan will allow us to maintain our position as the global market leader in copolyesters, and we will continue to evaluate options for more significant expansions in the future.”  

Eastman Tritan is a tough, transparent and sterilisable copolyester being used more and more in medical devices. It was launched in 2007. In May 2010, Eastman celebrated the grand opening of a plant dedicated to the production of Tritan in Kingsport. At the time, the plant marked an expansion production capacity of Tritan in alignment with increasing market demand for the material.