Cargill Industrial Oils and Lubricants announced last week that it is doubling the capacity of a Chicago factory that manufactures plant-based esters. The company said the expansion will accommodate increased sales of lubricant products, as well as intermediates for paints and coatings.
Cargill declined to disclose the capacity of the facility or the cost of the project, which is scheduled to be completed March 1. A spokesman did say the expansion would add well over 10 million pounds to its annual capacity.
The facility processes oils from plants such as soybeans, rapeseed and sunflower. The company said it needs more of those products partly because of growth in its line of lubricant products. In addition, stricter limits on volatile organic compounds have spurred interest in the use of alternative biobased intermediates for paints and coatings.
Cargill Industrial Oils and Lubricants is a unit of Cargill Inc., a provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services based in Minneapolis, Minn.