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news.Albemarle has successfully started a new unit to produce SpectraSyn polyalphaolefins (PAO), a high viscosity basestock for lubricants, for ExxonMobil Chemical. The plant's 15,000mt/yr capacity was successfully rate tested in November.
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Reportedly, Albemarle’s custom manufacturing business unit, Fine Chemistry Services (FCS) is designed and built the facility using a combination of new and existing equipment at Albemarle’s Pasadena, Texas production site.
Albemarle’s FCS division makes and markets bulk and niche APIs for over- the-counter and prescription drugs, and provides custom manufacturing, R&D and other services to makers of pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, specialty polymers and other high-value industry sectors. The FCS division is part of the company’s fine chemicals business segment.
Ron Gardner, vice president of fine chemicals at Albemarle, said: “This project is held up as a model within our company for the speed and technical success achieved by the team. The timeline from the initial feasibility study to a successful rate test was only two years, which included the design, construction and start-up of the facility. Albemarle’s FCS business model, focused on speed-to-market services with the highest quality results, drove this project to fruition.”