Jul 25 2007
SolVin, the European vinyls joint venture of Solvay and BASF, announces today that it is planning to expand the capacity of its plant in Jemeppe (Belgium), as part of a strategy to derive sustainable and profitable growth from dynamic global vinyls markets. Pending relevant regulatory clearance, annual capacity in Jemeppe will be lifted to 475,000 metric tons of fully integrated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) by 2009, up from 400.000 metric tons today. SolVin has already successfully reorganized its operations in Europe; the closing of its Ludwigshafen plant in 2006 was one of the major steps in this process.
The global market for vinyls has grown by more than 6% annually in recent years and is expanding by nearly 15% per annum in Eastern Europe or China. Vinyl is the preferred polymer for a number of construction, infrastructure and utilities applications which partially explains its success in the world’s most dynamic economies.
In the European Union (EU 27), the market has expanded significantly, with 600,000 tons in additional PVC consumption to date, compared with 2005. This was made possible by the competitiveness of vinyl products in the context of structurally high oil prices.
Following a detailed assessment by the industry and independent bodies, Vinyl is recognized as a major contributor to sustainable products, on the basis of its moderate content of petroleum-based raw materials, its insulation, fire protection and energy-saving properties and its recyclability – thanks, in particular, to the Vinyloop® technology developed by Solvay.
In China, authorities are tempering existing and planned vinyl production capacities, due to growing environmental concerns over the acetylene-based production process which is operated there. By contrast, the ethylene-based technology implemented by SolVin consumes 50% less energy, with a considerably reduced environmental impact.
“The vinyls market has changed drastically in recent years,” commented Jean-Pierre Pleska, General Manager of the Strategic Business Unit Vinyls, Solvay. “The robust growth of the vinyl market offers significant business opportunities. Solvay ‘s vinyls subsidiaries - SolVin in Europe including Russia, Solvay Indupa in Mercosur and Vinythai in South-East Asia - are in the best position to grasp these opportunities, with top quality products, highly competitive production units and state-of-the-art technologies, which comprise full recycling,” added Jean-Pierre Pleska.