GreenEnergyForEarth.com – Alternative Energy News and Green Products

Mar 12, 2009 – Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio, announced that it will build a new production facility in Esslingen, Germany, to produce specialty epoxy resins, vital materials used in the production of windmill blades for the wind energy market.

The new, 10,000 square meter facility will include production and warehousing as well as an applications laboratory and offices.  The facility will be a “blending only” operation and will not include chemical reactors.  It will replace a smaller Hexion facility in nearby Stuttgart that is not suitable to continue to house the growing business operation.  The 50 employees at the Stuttgart site will transfer to the Esslingen operation once it is commissioned late in the third quarter of 2009. Additional jobs may be created at the Esslingen location in the future as the business anticipates continued growth.

Hexion is one of the leading global suppliers of specialty epoxy resin systems to the wind energy market.  The materials produced at the new plant in Esslingen will include bonding pastes and infusion resins used in the fabrication of wind turbine blades that power windmills in modern wind energy farms.  Hexion’s specialty epoxy resins provide the mechanical strength, durability, stress resistance and proven performance required of modern blades, which can be up to 40-60 meters in length.

“Wind energy continues to grow as an environmentally suitable alternative for a portion of society’s energy needs,” Hexion’s Meunier said.  ”Advanced materials such as our specialty epoxy resin systems are an important component that enables these wind turbines to operate effectively and safely.”<-->