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Borouge, a leading provider of innovative, value creating
plastics solutions, today announced that it plans to develop a compounding facility in
China for the manufacture of high performance polypropylene compounds for applications in
the automotive and electrical appliance sectors.
The new compounding facility will be constructed in the Shanghai area
and will have an annual capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes with further expansion
possibility. It will be strategically located to take advantage of the supply of Borstar?
polypropylene from its production plant in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi through an advanced logistics
concept and to serve current customers such as VW, GM and PSA in China, future customers
in China and other Asian and Middle East markets.
The compounding facility will primarily provide polypropylene solutions
for the automotive industry including endurance and high impact interior and exterior
applications such as dashboards, door panels and bumpers, as well as mineral filled PP and
glass fibre reinforced PP for under the bonnet applications. Value-added compounds for
electrical appliances will also initially be part of the manufacturing portfolio.
The new site complements Borouge 2, the major expansion of Borouge's
production facilities in Ruwais which will triple its annual capacity to two million
tonnes of polyolefins and enable the production for the first time of polypropylene matrix
materials. The increased capacity is expected to come on-stream in 2010, in parallel to
the start-up of the new polymerisation units in the Borouge 2 project. It also complements
the development of Borouge and Borealis' network of Innovation Centres focused on customer
applications. Borealis is together with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) a
co-owner of Borouge and already markets its high value polyolefins to the automotive
markets in Asia through Borouge.
By locating this new facility in China, Borouge expects to take further
advantage of the country's status as the world's fastest growing automotive market and its
drive to become the biggest car producer in the world within the next 10 years. Borouge's
investment in Shanghai, which builds on the know-how of Borealis' European and Brazilian
compounding assets, underlines the company's commitment to serve the automotive and
electrical appliance sectors.
"This investment represents a very significant step in the ability
of Borouge and Borealis to serve its customers in the automotive industry with innovative
plastics solutions and to take advantage of this rapidly growing market sector,"
comments Harald Hammer, Chief Executive Officer of the Borouge marketing company.
"The location in Shanghai puts us close to the high growth markets in Asia, close to
our supply channels and close to our customers."
"A manufacturing presence in China helps us meet the increasing
demand from the automotive industry for innovative, value creating solutions," adds
Paul Turner, Vice President Automotive and Appliances at Borealis. "This is a natural
progression in the growth of our business in Asia and puts us right at the heart of one of
the most dynamic economies in the world."
by PRF News
2007-08-22