The third quarter of 2012 was a record-breaker for the long-fibre reinforced thermoplastics (LFRT) business of Ticona. Sulzbach, Germany-based Ticona set production records for LFRT materials during the quarter. The firm makes those materials at plants in Kaiserslautern, Germany; Winona, US; and Nanjing, China. A new LFRT pilot production line also will open in Kaiserslautern in the fourth quarter, officials added. Late last year, Ticona opened the world’s largest acetal production plant, with more than 300 million pounds of annual capacity in Frankfurt, Germany. Ticona ranks as the world’s largest acetal maker and produces other specialty resins as well. The business is part of Celanese Corp. of Dallas. In the first half of 2012, Celanese’s Advanced Engineered Materials unit – including Ticona – posted sales of $640m (€495m), down 5% from the year-ago period.
