As a global company in the field of high-performance polyaryletherketone (PAEK) polymers, Victrex is planning to build a large polymer technology facility in northern England to enhance its global technology leadership. Based on the increasingly prominent position of high-performance polymers in the global market, the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund Agency has allocated £1.3 million for the project after rigorous due diligence.

“Victrex continues to invest in technology to strengthen its leadership in polymers,” commented John Grasmeder, Technical Director at Victrex. “We serve customers in all industries with the goal of improving application performance at the same or lower cost. For example, the aircraft industry is currently using our newly developed technology to significantly reduce costs, reduce weight and speed up assembly time.”

More and more high-performance polymers of the polyaryletherketone (PAEK) class, including VICTREX PEEK, are being developed for demanding applications in this or other industrial fields, such as consumer electronics, automotive, energy and medical industries. At the same time, Victrex is helping manufacturers meet the need for high demands and more efficient processing technologies to save costs and accelerate time to market. In a fast-changing market that drives continuous progress in research and development, the strength of planned polymer innovations will be greatly improved, helping to transform laboratory concepts and engineers’ dreams into solutions and processes that can be mass-produced in the real world. New products and applications for Victrex’s global customers can be scaled up for testing until full commercialization.

Victrex has always maintained a high investment in research and development, and polymer innovation will continue this policy. In 2014, Victrex’s investment in its R&D projects exceeded 15 million pounds, accounting for 6% of sales. On the basis of this investment, there will be new investments and funds from the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund, which will actively promote future employment in the northwest of England (where Victrex is headquartered). The project is expected to create more than 80 direct and indirect jobs in the next ten years, with a total investment of up to 16 million pounds.

Victrex returned to double-digit growth in 2014, with sales of £253 million. This commendable performance was achieved not only by focusing on large projects and high value-added targets, but also by leveraging the company’s technological advantages, marketing expertise and innovation in markets including the automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy and medical industries.

——Quoted from “Modern Plastics”