MFG Chemical recently announced manufacturing upgrades at its facilities in Dalton, Georgia, that make surfactants, esters and derivative amines, and the company has an eye set on further growth.
In July, the contract petrochemical manufacturer made efficiency upgrades at its three production facilities in Dalton, two of which are capable of making surfactants, esters and derivative amines, all of which can be used to add lubricity and extend product life in lubricants, MFG Chemical President and CEO Keith Arnold said in a phone interview last week. The improvements include installation of new cooling towers, process control technology and upgraded reactor piping, according to a press release issued by the company last month.
Arnold said the company has capacity to produce over 45,000 metric tons per year of those and other products and that the lubricants industry is one of its key markets. With lubricants, you see a lot of growth, said Arnold. The technology around it is growing. The industry really demands top-notch quality, so we went ahead and addressed that.
The improvements are part of a multi-year project to bolster the companys production processes through improved technology. Arnold said the goal is to both refine its manufacturing of products like surfactants and esters and to expand MFG Chemicals chemistry capabilities. A lot of times we will be pulled into other project areas that are customer-driven, he said. They have a technology and theyll ask us to get the skillset to handle those type of lubricants.
Arnold said MFG Chemical will broaden the scope of new lubricants products within the next 12 to 18 months.
While the possibility of new manufacturing plants is not in the companys plans, Arnold said MFG Chemical has plenty of room to grow within its current setup. The company recently acquired a 26.7-acre facility in Pasadena, Texas, that currently doesnt produce any lubricants-related products, but that may not be the case for long.
Its a lot easier to grow within your own footprint, especially if you have all the auxiliary setup and the personnel and the safety system and technology, so well be doing it in the footprint of our plants, said Arnold.
MFG Chemicals customers are mostly North American-based with a few international buyers. The company manufactures products for 12 different markets.