Huntsman closes Australian styrenics plantHuntsman closes Australian styrenics plant

(The Woodlands, TX) has opted to shutter its West Footscray, Australia styrenics operation. Owned by Huntsman Chemical Co. Australia Pty Ltd., the facility’s production represents less than 2% of its 2008 global sales, with styrene production closed this year, and polystyrene and expandable polystyrene (EPS) shuttered in 2010. According to The Australian, the plant employed 325. Huntsman will maintain its Victoria, Australia-based RMAX EPS, performance products, polyurethanes, textile effects, and advanced materials divisions. The company said this closure, following the divestitures to Nova in 1998, SABIC in 2006, and Flint Hills Resources in 2007, means the company’s portfolio has expunged all commodity business.
 
The styrenics operation posted an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before income taxes depreciation amortization) loss of almost $24 million for 2008, based on an operating loss of approximately $29 million less $5 million in impairment charges. Prior to 2008, the company took an impairment charge and wrote the fixed assets to zero. In January 2007, Huntsman sold its Polyester Resins business assets to at West Footscray to Nuplex Industries Ltd. (Nuplex) for A$9.6 million ($7.5 million). According to Australian chemicals consultants Chemlink Pty Ltd., the West Footscray site had maximum PS capacity of 50,000 tonnes, with an additional 30,000 tonnes reacted into a range of styrene polymer derivatives, including ABS, SAN, and polyester resins.
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