DSM Expands U.S. EPDM Capacity.(Brief Article)

Dsm Elastomers says it will expand its 81,000-m.t./year Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) plant at Addis, LA by 30,000 m.t./year by 2004. Additional capacity will start coming onstream in early 2001, says DSM.

During an August turnaround at Addis, DSM initiated a four-year project to modernize the site's three production lines and trim operating costs. DSM says the market needs additional capacity; operating rates are at 96%. The market has stayed tight despite the startup of Union Carbide's 90,000- m.t./year Seadrift, TX EPDM unit, DSM says.

Carbide's plant, which came onstream in December 1998, was two years behind schedule due to mechanical …