Evonik to stop making polyphthalamide

Evonik Industries will close its only plant producing polyphthalamide, a type of nylon, by the second quarter of 2020. Employees at the plant, in Witten, Germany, will transfer to a nylon 12 facility Evonik is building in Marl, Germany. It’s set to open in 2021. The new plant is part of a $450 million program to increase Evonik’s nylon 12 capacity by more than 50%. Nylon 12 is better than polyphthalamide in promising applications such as 3-D printing, the firm says.