Nylon 66 Giant INVISTA Shuts Down Two Plants! Arkema's New Clear Polyamide Line in Singapore Starts Production

International News Highlights:

Material News - INVISTA Restructures Nylon 66 Operations, Plans to Close Two Plants

Automotive News - BASF's Innovative Polyamide Meets Higher Aging Resistance Requirements for Electric Vehicles

Electronics News - Mitsubishi Chemical's Bio-based PC DURABIO™ Used in AI Speaker Components of New Teana

Medical News - Major Acquisition | Innova Acquires Core Manufacturing Assets of Mexico's SSK

Macro News - PV Module Transaction Prices Start to Rise

Price Information - RMB/USD Central Parity Rate at 7.0120, Down 17 Pips

Below are the Details of International News:

INVISTA Restructures Nylon 66 Operations, Plans to Close Two Plants

Recently, INVISTA announced a series of strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening its global operational footprint and enhancing long-term business competitiveness. These measures include closing the precision machining plant in Martinsville, Virginia, USA; ceasing production at the Gloucester plant in the UK; and transferring related business to the plant in Kingston, Canada, which will continue to serve customers in North America and Europe. The company is also exploring various investment opportunities to expand production capacity at certain advantageous bases, including its plant in Shanghai, China.

Solstice Invests Over $220 Million to Expand UHMWPE Production

Plastmatch learned on January 14 that Solstice Advanced Materials, a global leader in high-performance specialty materials, announced on January 13 plans to invest over $220 million to advance multiple projects and expand its existing ballistic fiber production base in Colonial Heights, Chesterfield County, Virginia. The expansion is expected to create 100 new full-time jobs locally by 2029.

The expansion will increase production capacity for Spectra® and Spectra Shield® technologies. At the core of these technologies is Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber, which is up to 15 times stronger than steel and 65% lighter than aramid fabrics. The Colonial Heights base features world-class R&D and prototyping capabilities covering the entire process from fiber spinning and ballistic testing to composite preparation. This advantage will help Solstice accelerate its innovation cycle and launch next-generation lightweight armor systems and advanced soldier protection solutions, among other critical defense technology outcomes.

Tripling Capacity! Arkema's New Clear Polyamide Line in Singapore Officially Operational

Arkema announced that the new production unit for Rilsan® Clear transparent polyamide at its Singapore manufacturing base is now fully operational. This milestone strengthens Arkema's leading position in high-performance polymers and makes the Group the largest producer of transparent polyamide in Asia.

The successful commissioning of this new unit marks an important step in Arkema's development, tripling the Group's global production capacity for Rilsan® Clear transparent polyamide. With an investment of approximately $20 million, the project was officially announced in July 2025 and is one of the key growth initiatives recently deployed by Arkema to support its strategic roadmap for specialty materials development.

BASF's Innovative Polyamide Meets Higher Aging Resistance Requirements for Electric Vehicles

With the further development of electric vehicles (EVs), the aging resistance requirements for plastics in contact with chemicals have increased significantly. While plastic components in the engine compartment of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles have a service life of only 5,000 hours, the frequent battery charging process in EVs requires maintaining a constant temperature, increasing the service life requirement for plastic components in the engine compartment to 45,000 to 55,000 hours at operating temperatures.

Components such as pumps and valves in EV engine compartments use plastics. Ultramid®, a polyamide material from BASF's latest generation portfolio, underwent testing. This material features optimized hydrolysis resistance, laser marking performance, glass fiber reinforcement, and low halogen content, enabling it to meet all automotive market requirements, and even future ones. Test results indicate that after five years of testing, the predicted service life of this polyamide material exceeds 100,000 hours, providing the necessary safety assurance for the passenger car and truck industries.

UK Government Minister Unveils Advanced Recycling Technology by Greenback and Amcor

Greenback Recycling Technologies and Amcor, a manufacturer of responsible packaging solutions, welcomed Mary Creagh OBE to Amcor's factory in Heanor to officially launch the first UK deployment of Greenback's advanced recycling module. Her visit highlights the importance of Amcor and Greenback's circular plastics work in partnership with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), aiming to trial this innovative technology that can convert post-consumer flexible plastics into food-grade circular plastic feedstock.

Major Acquisition | Innova Acquires Core Manufacturing Assets of Mexico's SSK

Innova Engineered Plastics, a leading manufacturer of thick-walled plastic enclosures and disposable components, recently announced the completion of the acquisition of core manufacturing assets of SSK in Mexicali, Mexico. It is reported that Innova specializes in the injection molding of thick-walled engineered plastic enclosures and disposable products, targeting highly regulated markets such as medical devices.

Mitsubishi Chemical's Bio-based PC DURABIO™ Used in AI Speaker Components of New Teana

On January 13, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation announced that its bio-based engineering plastic "DURABIO™" has been adopted in the AI speaker components of the all-new "Teana" model launched by Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company in China in November 2025.

Reportedly, DURABIO™ is a bio-based polycarbonate resin mainly made from plant-derived isosorbide. Compared with traditional polycarbonate resins (PC resins) made from bisphenol A (BPA), DURABIO™ offers high transparency, excellent optical properties, and outstanding scratch resistance. Its puncture impact resistance is comparable to PC resin. Although DURABIO™ is a plant-derived polymer, it is not biodegradable. It exhibits excellent durability, making it suitable for a wide range of applications such as optical and energy-related components, alternatives to high-performance glass parts, as well as electronic device casings and automotive exterior/interior parts.

Overseas Macro Market:

PV Module Transaction Prices Start to Rise

Affected by the continuous upward adjustment of component manufacturers' guide prices recently, PV module transaction prices began to rise today, with some low-cost supply gradually disappearing. The actual transaction focus of enterprises has been moving upward recently, and it is expected that component prices will continue to rise in the future. As of today, SMM PV module prices are: domestic Topcon module - 182mm (distributed) at 0.716-0.723 yuan/W; Topcon module - 210mm (distributed) at 0.735-0.747 yuan/W; Topcon module - 210R (distributed) at 0.730-0.739 yuan/W, all up to varying degrees from yesterday.

Report: SK Hynix Halts Production of Consumer Memory, Shifts Resources to B2B and AI Server Markets

With the surge in demand for AI semiconductors, major companies are restructuring their businesses on a large scale. Following Micron, SK Hynix will stop producing consumer-grade DRAM and NAND Flash products and instead focus resources on the B2B and AI server markets.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management Expects "More DeepSeek Moments" in China's Tech Sector

J.P. Morgan Asset Management stated that as China ramps up efforts to create more companies like DeepSeek, Chinese tech stocks will continue to benefit from technological breakthroughs. "We do think there are still plenty of opportunities in China in the tech space," said Raisah Rasid, the firm's Global Market Strategist. "You will see more and more advancements in robotics and more DeepSeek moments." Year-to-date, an index tracking mainland Chinese tech stocks has risen 12%, outperforming its U.S. counterpart, as investors pour in. Looking ahead, Rasid believes AI spending and more favorable policies will be key catalysts driving Chinese tech stocks.

Price Information:

The RMB/USD central parity rate was set at 7.0120, down 17 pips; the previous trading day's central parity was 7.0103, the previous trading day's official closing price was 6.9765, and the previous night session closed at 6.9795.

Upstream Raw Material USD Market Prices:

CFR Northeast Asia: $725/ton; CFR Southeast Asia: $710/ton.

Northeast Asia propylene FOB Korea average to $740/ton; CFR China average to $790/ton.

North Asia refrigerated cargo CIF: propane $558-560/ton; butane $578-580/ton.

China South China refrigerated cargo CIF for early February arrival: propane $599-609/ton; butane $594-604/ton.

Taiwan refrigerated cargo CIF: propane $558-560/ton; butane $578-580/ton.

LLDPE USD Market Prices:

Film: $800/ton (CFR Xiamen); Injection: $820/ton (CFR Huangpu).

HDPE USD Market Prices:

Film: $890/ton (CFR Huangpu); Injection: $770/ton (CFR Huangpu); Blow molding: $795-840/ton (CFR Huangpu); Pipe: $1000/ton (CFR Huangpu).

LDPE USD Market Prices:

Film: $1020/ton (CFR Huangpu); Coating: $1050-1180/ton (CFR Qingdao).

PP USD Market Prices:

Injection: $800/ton (CFR Dongguan); Copolymer: $860/ton (CFR Nansha); Film: $960-990/ton (CFR Huangpu); Transparent: $1000/ton (CFR Huangpu); Pipe: $1100/ton (CFR Shanghai).