Chemours Inaugurates New Altamira TiO2 Production Line in Mexico

The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, formally inaugurated its new titanium dioxide (TiO2) production line at its Altamira plant in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas on September 22.

In May of this year, Chemours announced the commercial start-up of the new line for customer qualifications; the line uses the Chemours chloride process to produce Ti-Pure™ TiO₂ pigment. Production on the new line is expected to ramp up steadily, with full capacity of 200,000t/yr being achieved over the next several years. In addition to its Altamira plant, Chemours manufactures TiO₂ products at sites in Mississippi, Tennessee and Taiwan. The company will balance production across these facilities to meet customers’ needs as the new Altamira line increases capacity.

Bryan Snell, president of Chemours Titanium Technologies, participated in the ceremonies to mark the official opening of the new production line. He was joined by Jose Antonio Chouza, Commercial Director for Chemours Titanium Technologies in Latin America, as well as Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Tamaulipas Governor Egidio Torre Cantú, and other federal, state and local government officials from Mexico.

"The expansion we celebrate today demonstrates our confidence in, and our commitment to, the future of the TiO₂ industry," said Snell. "We are proud to be the global leader in producing high-quality titanium dioxide pigments. This new production line will help us deliver on our long-term commitment to serving our global customers with a product that delivers high-performance without compromising quality or environmental sustainability."

"In addition to increasing the future production capacity of our plant, this expansion has generated thousands of local jobs," said Chouza. "During the three-year construction project, 3,000 contractor jobs were created. The production expansion also means 200 new direct jobs, one-quarter of which are filled by women."

Chemours has the lowest sustainable TiO₂ production cost in the world due to facility scale, proprietary process and know-how, and the ability to use a wide variety of ore feedstocks. The company anticipates that it will reduce overall costs of TiO₂ manufacturing by at least US$20M annually.