DSM invests in de-bottlenecking of acrylonitrile plant to increase capacity by 10%

Heerlen - Royal DSM N.V. today announces that it will start a de-bottlenecking project for the acrylonitrile (ACN) plant located on the Chemelot site in Geleen, the Netherlands. The project will lead to a capacity increase of 24,000 tons per year, which means over 10% of the existing capacity of 235,000 tons per year. The investment will be around EUR 15 million. The project will be finalized in 2007. The additional capacity will be available as of Q3, 2007.

“The capacity increase for acrylonitrile is another step in the context of DSM’s new strategy Vision 2010 – Building on Strengths,” comments Jan Zuidam, deputy chairman of DSM’s Managing Board. “It serves two key strategic goals: actively maintain our leading position in this market and improve our production processes via Operational Excellence. This investment is also positive for the Chemelot production site in Geleen, the Netherlands.”

“The market for acrylonitrile is developing well,” says Ad Robeerst, Business Unit Director ACN. “Overall supply/demand balance is healthy and we are confident that this step will help us to fulfill our customers’ growth needs.”

About DSM Acrylonitrile

DSM Acrylonitrile is a business unit of the DSM Fibre Intermediates business group. The current capacity of the business unit’s plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, is 235,000 tons per year. DSM is one of the leading producers of acrylonitrile in Europe. Acrylonitrile is used as a raw material in textile fibers, ABS plastics, latex rubber and water purification products.