Italian chemicals company Versalis has opened a new ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber production plant in Ferrara, Italy, which will mainly supply the automotive industry.

The new facility is an excellent example of reindustrialization of an Italian production plant. Over €250 million was invested in the project, which involved constructing a new production line on land that was reclaimed and duly authorized for renewed industrial use, and the revamping of the existing elastomer plant.

This investment in Ferrara will increase overall production capacity by around 50,000 metric tons per year. It will also enable the company to update its elastomer product range and boost job numbers, with 45 new staff to be added to production and related services, plus a further 50 people  to outsourced activities. An average of 550 people worked on site during the construction and the majority of the materials were supplied by Italian companies.

The investment further strengthens Versalis’ presence in the area, facilitated by working closely with local institutions throughout the authorisation process, which was completed in just one year. Ferrara plays a key role in Versalis’s production system, with 330 employees and an average of 180 contractors a day. As well as elastomers production, the complex also includes production facilities for low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and a major research centre.