Covestro’s core business activity is the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials. To maintain its established international reputation in this field, the German corporation employs a workforce of approximately 16,200 people at 30 production sites worldwide.
The Covestro site at the Port of Antwerp in Flanders will be expanded with a new unit for the production of aniline: an important raw material required to make MDI, a precursor for rigid foam used to insulate buildings and refrigerators.
For the Antwerp chemical industry, this is the third announcement of an investment in only a few weeks. Earlier this month, Borealis (Austria) revealed its allocation of 1 billion euros to the construction of a propylene plant. Around the same time, Nippon Shokubai (Japan) funneled EUR 350 million into its chemical production site in Zwijndrecht.
Covestro’s choice to settle its new production unit in Flanders is no coincidence. Its site in Antwerp benefits from the advantageous infrastructure and logistics expertise the harbor is known for, and has easy access to all raw materials needed to produce aniline.
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