May 30 2003
Solvin, the joint venture between Solvay and BASF, will cease production on January 1, 2006 at the Ludwigshafen, Germany operation. The joint venture was established in 1999, with Solvay holding a 75% stake and BASF the remainder. Solvin has operations in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, with a combined output of 1.3 million tons of PVC per annum.
The Ludwigshafen plant currently produces approximately 100,000 mt/yr of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and 145,000 mt/yr of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The capacity from this plant will be transferred in part or completely to other world class operations, run by Solvin under the company’s rationalisation plans.
The sites that will potentially take over the Ludwigshafen capacity are larger and more competitive.
Through careful planning Solvin is confident that they will be able to find jobs for the 167 staff that will be affected, and that delivery of product will not be disrupted.
For more information on polyvinyl chloride (PVC), click here.