Zoltek Companies, Inc., a global leader in the production of low-cost industrial grade carbon fibre, has announced an increase in carbon fibre production capacity at the facility located in Nyergesujfalu, Hungary. Zoltek is a leader in rated capacity for making low-cost, high performance carbon fibre through a proprietary continuous carbonisation process.

By expanding operations at the Hungarian facility, Zoltek will increase the plant’s production capacity by fifty per cent to 15,000 tons produced annually. This will increase Zoltek’s global production capacity of its PX35 carbon fibre to a total of 25,000 tons produced on an annual basis with production beginning in 2020.

Zoltek PX35 carbon fibre can be found on a number of vehicles currently in production, including the Cadillac ATS/CTS and Audi A8. An expansion of this scale will lay the foundation for future expected growth in automotive. This expansion will cost approximately US$ 130 million and will generate approximately 350 jobs in Hungary. The Hungarian Government will support the expansion with over eight billion HUF.

Currently, Zoltek produces just one type of 50K carbon fibre at plants in both Hungary and Mexico. The fibre is ideal for large-scale commercial applications such as those in the growing wind energy and automotive industries.

Yoshihiro Takeuchi, CEO, COO, and president of Zoltek said, “We continue to see an increase in demand for wind turbine blades, as well as automotive structural applications. By expanding our production, we are preparing capacity for expected demand from the wind energy and automotive industries.” (GK)