Solutia Inc. will reportedly expand its operations in China to include the production of Vistasolar ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant at its Chinese facility located in Suzhou. The investment w…
Solutia Inc. will reportedly expand its operations in China to include the production of Vistasolar ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant at its Chinese facility located in Suzhou. The investment will include the construction of a new building to house several new EVA production lines, capable of manufacturing 2.35m wide sheet, along with the infrastructure for additional future capacity. The first production line is scheduled to be completed by June 2011. “Solutia is well-positioned to play a leading role in meeting the needs of the global renewable energy market,” said Jeffry N. Quinn, chairman, president and CEO of Solutia Inc. “Combining EVA with our Saflex(R) PVB encapsulant manufacturing capabilities in China positions Solutia as the only one-stop source for solar encapsulant solutions in the greater Asia Pacific region and around the globe.” According to an industry report, demand from China and the greater Asia Pacific region for EVA encapsulants is expected to almost triple by 2015 from its 2009 levels. “Since the majority of photovoltaic module production capacity is currently located in China, the addition of EVA lines in Suzhou will allow Solutia to cost-effectively serve local demand,” said Tim Wessel, president of Solutia“s Advanced Interlayers division. “Combined with Solutia“s world-class technical service and strong commercial team in Asia, this expansion allows us to provide total encapsulant solutions to solar module manufacturers in the region.”