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Zoltek Companies, Inc. (St. Louis, MO, US), a global leader in the production of low-cost industrial grade carbon fiber, on April 6 announced an increase in carbon fiber production capacity at the facility located in Nyergesújfalu, Hungary.

By expanding operations at the Hungarian facility, Zoltek will increase the plant’s production capacity by 50% to 15,000 tons produced annually. This will increase Zoltek’s global production capacity of its PX35 carbon fiber to a total of 25,000 tons produced on an annual basis with production beginning in 2020.

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

“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,” says Yoshihiro Takeuchi, CEO, COO, and president of Zoltek.

Zoltek PX35 carbon fiber 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. The expansion will cost approximately 130 million USD and will generate approximately 350 jobs in Hungary. The Hungarian Government will support the expansion with over eight billion HUF.