Fire at Byk-Chemie in Kempen extinguished
At 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, 27 August 2023, an explosion occurred in a tank farm at the Kempen, Germany, plant of BYK-Chemie GmbH, followed by a fire.
The fire has since been extinguished. According to the authorities, eight firefighters were affected by the fire, three of them slightly injured. All have already been released from medical care. “We very much regret the incident and apologise for any inconvenience caused to the public,” said Matthias Kramer, Byk Managing Director Production.
Additives for paint and varnish applications
The spilled substance is used as an important building block in the manufacture of various products in the plastics industry, such as foams for mattresses and construction applications. Byk uses this raw material as a starting material for the production of additives for paint and varnish applications. At the Kempen site, additives for paints and varnishes are produced that, for example, increase the scratch resistance of car paints or are used in the surface finishing of paper.
