New Plants
Johnson Matthey PLC
29 November 2007
For release at 3.00 pm Thursday 29th November 2007
Johnson Matthey to build new Emission Control Catalyst Plants in Macedonia and
the USA
Johnson Matthey today announced that it is to build two new emission control
catalyst plants to serve rapidly growing demand for its products in Europe and
North America.
The first of these major projects is a state of the art manufacturing facility
that is to be constructed in the Bunardjick Technological and Industrial
Development Zone, 15 kilometres from the Macedonian capital, Skopje. The new
plant will be built to a modular design and the initial phase will incorporate
highly automated production lines for both light duty diesel autocatalysts and
selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts for heavy duty diesel vehicles.
SCR utilises catalysts to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen, commonly
referred to as NOx, from diesel vehicle exhaust. These systems also require a
urea additive that is injected into the exhaust stream ahead of the SCR
catalysts. SCR systems are extensively used on heavy duty diesel vehicles in
Europe to meet the current Euro IV heavy duty diesel emissions standards that
came into force in the European Union in October 2006 and demand is forecast to
grow strongly over the next few years.
The initial investment in the Macedonian plant will be approximately £34 million
(€48 million) and it will have capacity to produce 4 million catalysts per year.
The second new plant will be constructed on a site near the town of Smithfield
in south west Pennsylvania and will be a dedicated facility to produce SCR
catalysts for the North American market. Stricter US 2010 Heavy Duty Diesel
emission standards come into force on 1st January 2010 and most manufacturers
will use a combination of SCR, particulate filters and diesel oxidation
catalysts to meet them. Johnson Matthey will have a leading share of this
business. In addition, emission standards for light duty diesel vehicles in the
US and legislation requiring catalysts on diesel non road mobile equipment such
as construction and agricultural machinery that will be phased in between 2011
and 2014, will drive North American demand for SCR catalysts over the coming
years.
Initial investment in the Smithfield facility will be £21 million (US$43
million). The plant, which will have capacity to produce over one million of
these large, complex heavy duty diesel catalysts per year, will be highly
automated and use Johnson Matthey's latest production technology from around the
world.
Both the Macedonia and USA facilities are expected to commence operation by the
end of 2009.
Commenting on these two major investments Neil Carson, Chief Executive of
Johnson Matthey, said: 'I am delighted to announce these important additions to
our global manufacturing infrastructure. Our long term commitment to R&D and to
developing a full range of products for both heavy and light duty diesel
emission control has placed us in a strong position in this rapidly growing
market. Our new plants in Macedonia and in the USA will provide additional,
state of the art manufacturing capacity to serve our customers in Europe and
North America.'
Enquiries:
Ian Godwin Director, IR and Corporate Communications 020 7269 8410
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
Latest directors dealings
- 5 hours ago ASOS
- 6 hours ago MJ Gleeson
- 6 hours ago Rolls-Royce Holdings
- 7 hours ago Crest Nicholson Holdings
- 7 hours ago Naked Wines