Invista plans nylon yarn investments to meet global airbag demand

To help meet continued demand driven by growth of the global airbag market, Invista has developed plans to invest in several projects within the next five to seven years across its global industrial nylon yarn manufacturing network.

Following the recently announced expansions in Qingpu, China, and Gloucester, UK, the company is now planning to add another 7,000 tonnes of spinning capacity at its Kingston, Canada, facility. Start-up of these latest assets is expected in the second quarter of 2012.

“Our customers have sent us a very clear message that their demand is increasing across the world, which creates a need for us to invest in capital equipment – potentially in the hundreds of millions of dollars” said

John Barnes, global business director for industrial nylon products, said: “We are currently working closely with major airbag system manufacturers to understand their needs. The design work for the Kingston expansion is largely complete, and assuming continued strong market demand, construction can begin in the second half of 2011.”