AL: Huntsman Advanced Materials Expanding in McIntosh

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Huntsman Corporation recently announced a major step towards expanding one of its key product lines in its McIntosh facility. The company will launch a multi-million-dollar engineering study and will expand its multifunctional resins capacity to serve the current and future needs of its customers in the aerospace and composite industries.

Capital investment for the project is projected to be $40 million but the final number will be determined by the engineering study underway. The expansion will create 35 permanent, high-paying jobs with an average salary of $60,000 per year.

“The aerospace industry is one of our target markets and this announcement today positions Alabama as a key player in the critical supply chain for this industry,” said Alabama Development Office Director Greg Canfield. “Aerospace is an industry that continues to contribute greatly to the success of our state’s economy and we welcome another high quality expansion in this sector.”

Jesse Quillen, Washington Couny economic development manager, said “It’s exciting to see industry continue to invest and grow in the Mobile Bay region during a difficult economy. Huntsman has made an enormous commitment to its McIntosh facility that will provide many needed, high quality jobs in the future. This is another victory for Team Alabama with Governor Bentley, Congressman Bonner and ADO leading the way. Without their support and leadership and the contributions of many others, this could not have happened.”

Huntsman Advanced Materials, the global market leader in multifunctional expoxy resins, has invested significantly during 2011, expanding its capacity and capability to produce multifunctional epoxy resins both in the United States and in Europe at its Monthey, Switzerland facility and enhancing its current capability to produce purified resins in the McIntosh site.

Once completed, the new line will further boost global production of all types of multifunctional epoxy resins.

James Huntsman, president Advanced Materials Division, said, “Demand for multifunctional expoxy resins, as a replacement for aluminum and other materials and the forecasted needs of the aerospace industry are major factors influencing this decisionl.

“These investments will bring enormous benefit and value to our customers around the world,” Huntsman said, “helping them address some of the engineering challenges they face over the coming years to produce lighter, more efficient materials. I am also delighted this project will create jobs at our McIntosh site.”

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. Operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging. The company has approximately 12,0000 employees and operates from multiple locations worldwide. The company had 2010 revenues of more than $9 billion.

For more information about Huntsman, please visit the company’s website at www.huntsman.com.

For more information about the Alabama Development Office, visit: www.ado.alabama.gov.