The installation of giant columns at Arkema’s Carling acrylic acid plant in France marks the first stage of an extraordinary project, which began in 2024 and required years of preparation.

This large-scale €130 million industrial project involves the construction of a new unit with an innovative acrylic acid purification process, which will improve energy efficiency by 25% and the carbon intensity of operations by 20%, optimize resource and waste management, while increasing the site’s production capacity.

The scale of the project is such that it is comparable to building a plant within a plant. At least 100 employees (out of a total of 385 on-site) are currently mobilized, and a peak of 200 workers is expected, including external contractors from numerous trades and experts: pipefitters, mechanics, electricians, and industrial IT specialists.

Transporting the 60-meter-long columns, each weighing 150 tons, onto the platform was already a major challenge. The next operation of lifting and installing these columns was a delicate phase that went perfectly: this is the first concrete stage of the new distillation unit, which will come online in 2026.