Wood awarded Evonik contract

SPECIALTY chemicals company Evonik has awarded Wood a contract to deliver services for a new polyamide 12 (PA12) production complex, to be built at Marl Chemical Park in Marl, Germany.

PA12 is a high-performance polymer for special applications. It is employed in a range of end markets, including the automotive industry, oil and gas pipelines, and 3D printing. Evonik is one of the world’s largest producers of PA12, which it markets as Vestamid L.

Wood is to deliver engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services for the new complex which is to supplement PA12 production at an existing facility. The project will be executed by Wood’s capital projects team in Milan, Italy, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

Ralf Düssel, Head of the High-Performance Polymers Business Line at Evonik, said: “This is Evonik’s largest investment in Germany so far, valued at approximately €400 million (US$448.1m), and it is expected to increase the Group’s overall capacity for PA12 by more than 50 percent. In Wood, we have contracted a well-known, globally active technical services provider, for the successful implementation of such a challenging project.”

Dave Stewart, CEO of Wood’s Asset Solutions business in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, said: “Wood is committed to the safe, reliable and successful delivery of this major project supporting Evonik to achieve future PA12 production targets.”

Work on the PA12 complex will further develop the relationship between Wood and Evonik following Wood’s delivery of basic engineering, EPCM, and commissioning support services to Evonik. The services were for Evonik’s new world-scale methionine plant on Jurong Island, Singapore. Successful mechanical completion was achieved safely in December 2018 and all of the EPC contract milestones were met.