- Molly Ryan
- Reporter- Houston Business Journal
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AkzoNobel NV, a Netherlands-based paints and specialty chemicals giant, said Friday that it is investing millions of dollars expanding capacity at its La Porte facility.
In order to meet increased demand from the semiconductor industry, especially for the production of LEDs, AkzoNobel will extend its tri-methyl-aluminum (TMAL) unit, and it is building a new tri-methyl-gallium (TMG) plant. TMG is used in products such as LED wafer manufacturing.
AkzoNobel said the TMAL unit should be completed by the third quarter of 2013, and the new TMG plant will be completed by August 2014.
“The LED industry has been experiencing strong growth, well in excess of 20 percent per annum,” Werner Fuhrmann, AkzoNobel’s executive committee member responsible for specialty chemicals, said in a statement. “This investment will make production more cost-efficient and ensure that we continue supplying our customers with a highly specialized product which is playing an increasingly important role in 21st century technology.”
AkzoNobel did not disclose the cost of the investment.