Florence, Ky. ... Fortron Industries, a joint venture of Ticona Technical Polymers (ticona.com) and Kureha Chemical Industries, in Japan (www.kureha.co.jp), will double the capacity of its Fortron linear polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) plant in Wilmington, N.C., to 15,000 metric tons/yr. When completed in the first half of 2007, the expansion will create the world's largest PPS plant. PPS is a high-performance polymer featuring good chemical and thermal resistance, high hardness, rigidity, and dimensional stability. It often serves as a replacement for metals and thermosets in automotive and electronic devices.