The 10 000 m2 facility will include production and warehousing as well as an applications laboratory and offices. This ‘blending only’ operation, which does not include chemical reactors, will replace a smaller Hexion facility in nearby Stuttgart which is becoming too small. Hexion is based in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
The wind energy materials produced at the Hexion plant in Esslingen will include bonding pastes and infusion resins used in the fabrication of wind turbine blades in modern windfarms. Hexion’s specialty epoxy resins are said to provide the mechanical strength, durability, stress resistance and proven performance required of modern blades, which can be up to 40-60 m in length.
“Wind energy continues to grow as an environmentally suitable alternative for a portion of society’s energy needs,” says Johannes Meunier, Hexion’s business manager for Composites & Wind Energy. “Advanced materials such as our specialty epoxy resin systems are an important component that enables these wind turbines to operate effectively and safely.”
