On March 18, Arkema announced that the first phase of the mega project at its Carling acrylics plant in France was successfully completed. The project began in 2024 and will be put into use in 2026.

The large-scale industrial project (with an investment of 130 million euros) involves the construction of a new facility using an innovative acrylic purification process, which will improve energy efficiency (by 25%) and operational carbon intensity (by 20%), optimize resource and waste management, and increase the production capacity of the plant.

The scale of the project is comparable to building a factory within a factory! Currently, at least 100 employees (out of a total of 385 on site) have been mobilized, with an expected maximum of 200 workers, including external contractors and experts from various industries: plumbers, mechanics, electricians, and industrial IT specialists.

Transporting the 60-meter-long, 150-ton tower columns to the platform was already a major challenge. The subsequent lifting and installation of these tower columns was a very delicate phase, but it went very smoothly: this is the first concrete stage of the new distillation unit, which will be operational in 2026.

Arkema's Carling plant holds a leading position in the acrylic acid market (it is the second-largest chemical company globally in terms of installed capacity in Europe, the United States, and Asia). Acrylic monomers, which are the flagship product of the Carling plant, are essential compounds in the design of many everyday items. They are used in the production of metal coatings for laptops and tablets, paints, adhesives, superabsorbents (used in diapers), and flocculants for water treatment.