TEL AVIV, Israel, November 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
ICL Industrial Products ("ICL IP"), a segment of
ICL (NYSE and TASE: ICL), today announced that it has
successfully completed the chemical process start-up of a new
manufacturing facility in Israel
for the production of FR-122P, ICL IP's new polymeric flame
retardant. Samples from the full-scale production process have been
dried at ICL IP's pilot plant, found to meet required
specifications of the product, and are currently being sent to
customers for their evaluation. Startup activities related to the
filtration and drying part of the production process have been
ongoing without encountering any significant technological
obstacles to date.
The recently completed production facility in Israel is currently ramping up its activities
for commercial production of FR 122P. The FR-122P production
facility, which will have a production capacity of 10,000MT, joins
another ICL IP facility in the
Netherlands which is already producing commercial quantities
of FR-122P, and is expected to help ICL IP meet growing market
demand.
ICL IP's FR-122P product replaces its previous flame retardant,
HBCD, currently the standard used in EPS/XPS insulation foams, and
which, according to European Union regulations, will be phased-out
of the market by August 2015. The
product is derived from a licensing agreement that Bromine
Compounds Limited (a business unit of ICL IP) entered into with Dow
Global Technologies LLC for the manufacture of FR-122P.
ICL and Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) previously announced a
joint venture for the production of ICL's FR-122P and Albemarle's
GreenCrest™ polymeric flame retardant at ICL's FR-122P plants in
the Netherlands and Israel.
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About ICL Industrial Products
ICL IP, one of ICL's three operating segments, manufactures and
markets a broad range of industrial chemicals based on bromine,
magnesia, chlorine and salts. ICL-IP's bromine-based products are
life-saving components that reduce the mercury emissions of
coal-burning power stations, enhance the safety of deep-water oil
and gas drilling operations, and minimize the fire hazard
associated with consumer electronics, automobiles, furniture,
insulation, and other widely-used products. In addition, the
pharmaceutical industry uses bromine as an intermediary in the
manufacture of drugs for the treatment of cancer, epilepsy, heart
disease and other life-threatening conditions.
ICL-IP is the industry's leading bromine company, and supplies
approximately one third of the world's elemental bromine. It
employs approximately 2,500 employees in Israel and throughout the world.
About ICL
ICL, a global manufacturer of products based on specialty
minerals that fulfill humanity's essential needs, primarily in
three markets: agriculture, food and engineered materials.
The agricultural products that ICL produces help to feed the
world's growing population. The potash and phosphates that it mines
and manufactures are used as ingredients in fertilizers and serve
as an essential component in the pharmaceutical and food additives
industries. The food additives that ICL produces enable people to
have greater access to more varied and higher quality food. ICL's
water treatment products supply clean water to millions of people,
as well as to industry around the world. Other substances, based on
bromine and phosphates help to create energy that is more efficient
and environmentally friendly, prevent the spread of forest fires
and allow the safe and widespread use of a variety of products and
materials.
ICL benefits from a broad presence throughout the world and
proximity to large markets, including in emerging regions. ICL
operates within a strategic framework of sustainability that
includes a commitment to the environment, support of communities in
which ICL's manufacturing operations are located and where its
employees live, and a commitment to all its employees, customers,
suppliers and other stakeholders.
ICL is a public company whose shares are dual listed on the New
York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NYSE and TASE:
ICL). The company employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide,
and its sales in 2013 totaled circa US$6.3
billion. For more information, visit the company's website
at http://www.icl-group.com
Fleisher Communications and Public Relations
Amiram Fleisher
+972-3-6241241
amiram@fleisher-pr.com