Grupa Azoty ATT Polymers GmbH (''abridged name: Grupa Azoty ATT POLYMERS'') – one of the enterprises producing

polyamide 6 Nylon 6 or polycaprolactam is a polymer, in particular semicrystalline polyamide. Unlike most other nylons, nylon 6 is not a condensation polymer, but instead is formed by ring-opening polymerization; this makes it a special case in the compariso ...

(PA6) in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Acquired by Zakłady Azotowe w Tarnowie-Mościcach in 2009, currently a member of

Grupa Azoty Grupa Azoty S.A. (until 2013 ''Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów-Mościce'') is a major Poland, Polish chemical industry company headquartered in the Mościce district of Tarnów, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southeastern Poland. The company wa ...

, in production of

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

construction materials This is a list of building materials. Many types of building materials are used in the construction industry to create buildings and structures. These categories of materials and products are used by architects and construction project managers to ...

and

caprolactam Caprolactam (CPL) is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula (CH2)5C(O)NH. This colourless solid is a lactam (a cyclic amide) of caproic acid. Global demand for this compound is approximately five million tons per year, and the vast ...

. Grupa Azoty ATT POLYMERS is seated in

Guben Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...

, (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

). The company has its own laboratory and cooperates with a modern laboratory of the Grupa Azoty located in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

. Its activity is focused on both development of existing products as well as on

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

on new products.

History

In 1958, the authorities of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

decided to increase the volume of national production of

synthetic fibres Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants like cotton or ...

. The main element of that plan was construction of the chemical complex in Guben. The first facilities of Chemiefaserwerk Guben were constructed in 1960 in the place of former arms factories Rheinmetall-Borsig; whereas in 1964, the trial production was commenced. In 1968, polyamide 6 was produced for the first time, which was used to produce carpet yarn. In years 1979–1980 the production possibilities were expanded within the field of PA6. Upon

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, the plants operated under the name of Chemiefaserwerk Guben GmbH. As a result of multiple ownership changes in 1998, the company Plastomid Polymere GmbH was founded, which was a specialist in polyamide 6 production (20 thousand tons per year). Two years later, the

Polymerisation In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many form ...

reactors were modernised by their adjustment to two-stage production. Since then, in addition to new types of high-viscose granulate, it was possible to enter the foil market. In 2005, the company changed its name to Unylon Polymers GmbH and increased the production powers to 47 thousand tons of PA6 per year. As a result of the financial crisis, it was not possible to maintain the production profitability and bankruptcy proceedings were commenced in 2009. One of its elements was looking for an investor who would take over Unylon Polymers GmbH. In 2010, the plants were taken over in 100% by Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów-Mościce S.A. As a result of a merger of two largest Polish chemical firms, the company has operated as Grupa Azoty ATT Polymers GmbH since 2013.

Shareholding structure

100% of shares is held by the Grupa Azoty, being the controlling shareholder of the major Polish plants of Great Chemical Synthesis (

Kędzierzyn-Koźle Kędzierzyn-Koźle () is a city in south-western Poland, the administrative center of Kędzierzyn-Koźle County. With 58,899 inhabitants as of 2021, it is the second most-populous city in the Opole Voivodeship. Founded from the merger of the prev ...

, Police,

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka River, Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was Cen ...

Management

The company is run by two managing directors: Gabriele Kell and Jacek Dychtoń, whereas the members of the Supervisory Board are Andrzej Skolmowski, Małgorzata Malec and Witold Szczypiński.

Production

Grupa Azoty ATT Polymers GmbH mainly specialises in polyamide 6 production. Its high viscosity allows for its application in, e.g. production of bi-oriented foil, which is used in work with foods. A product named Alphalon™ was distinguished at fairs PLASTPOL 2011 in

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

. The production abilities in Grupa Azoty ATT POLYMERS are estimated as 45 thousand tons per year. In 2014, Grupa Azoty gained the possibility to open the next factory of polyamide 6 in Tarnów as a part of Special Economic Zone in Kraków with production rate of 80 thousand tons per year. The synergy of these installations allows the company to produce ca. 170 thousand tons of PA6 per year.

Successes

In 2011, at XV International Fairs of Plastics and Rubber Processing PLASTPOL in Kielce, the company was distinguished for alphalon E36LN used to produce bi-oriented foil that can have direct contact with foods.

References

{{Reflist Chemical industry 1960 establishments in West Germany German companies established in 1960