Evonik celebrates 50 years of isophorones

On November 16, Evonik celebrated 50 years of making isophorone chemicals. This was an important milestone for the company and 200 customers, employees and pensioned former employees joined Evonik Executive Board members Dr Thomas Haeberle and Thomas Wessel in Herne to celebrate.
The first plant for isophorone production commenced operation at the Herne site of Hibernia, as a predecessor company of Evonik Industries in 1962. Discovered as a byproduct of acetone catalysis, isophorone, a solvent, eventually became one of the company’s core areas of competency. The continual further development of this product, combined with the exploration and tapping of new technologies and markets, enabled the company to build an extensive product portfolio for applications in a whole variety of industries.
In June, Evonik held a groundbreaking ceremony for the start of construction of a plant in Shanghai, its fifth isophorone production site.
Products from the facilities, which are scheduled to come on stream in the first quarter of 2014, will primarily serve markets in China and Asia Pacific, with a capacity
of 50kt/yr.