ICI Australia to Officially Open $17M Deer Park Upgrade

2nd June, 1007

ICI Australia will today officially open its upgraded adhesives and resins operation at Deer Park in Melbourne's western suburbs, representing an investment of $17 million. The upgrade will increase the site's annual production of adhesives, resins and intermediate formaldehyde by fifty per cent, which is in line with world scale and world class levels.

"This expansion will enable our company to maintain its position as the leading producer of adhesives and resins in Australia and New Zealand," said Adhesives and Resins division general manager Mr Pat Hanrahan.

"As well as improving operating efficiencies and economies of scale," he said, "this move demonstrates our commitment to meeting our customers current and anticipated future needs. The upgraded resin reactor, for example, features an innovative design which enables us to produce a new range of resins to meet exacting customer requirements.

ICI Australia's adhesives and resins are used by wood panel manufacturers to bind products such as medium density fibreboard, for which there is strong export demand.

"Our customers are growing and increasingly selling onto the export market," Mr Hanrahan said. "Demand for timber products has surged, particularly in Asian markets. This growth is evidenced by the release of additional local renewable plantation timber resources and the construction and expansion of several wood panel mills in Australia and New Zealand over the past two years.

"ICI is also expanding its resins operations into the Asian region as the forest product industry in these countries moves towards renewable timber resources."

The upgrade has created a range of environmental benefits including improved air quality and energy recovery. "The project contributes towards ICI Australia's company-wide commitment to resource efficiency, cleaner production and reduced greenhouse emissions," said Mr Hanrahan.

The company's adhesives and resins are used extensively throughout the wood panel industry and in other specialty binder applications in Australasia and Asia.