Restructuring continues among PS suppliers

Overcapacity, combined with feedstock volatility and weak demand, has led to the PS operations being unprofitable, he added. The Breda site will remain open for supply of expandable PS and a high-impact grade of the material. Ineos Nova (Channahon, IL) is a joint venture between Ineos and Nova Chemicals. The company has about 1400 tonnes/yr of PS capacity and, in Europe, about 450 tonnes/yr of EPS capacity.
 
BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany), meanwhile, continues restructuring its styrenics business, this time via the sale of its Brazilian polystyrene business, including a production plant, to Companhia Brasileira de Estireno (CBE), a subsidiary of Unigel, one of the largest privately owned petrochemical groups in Latin America. The purchase price and other financial details will not be disclosed.

“Given the current economic environment, we are taking steps to improve the profitability of our core styrenics business and strengthen our market position. This was also the reason for the recent closure of the 80,000-tonnes/yr polystyrene plant in Ludwigshafen and the sale of our 320,000-tonnes/yr styrene monomer site in Korea that we announced at the beginning of August,” explained Joachim Streu, head of BASF’s styrenics business.
 
BASF’s PS plant in São José dos Campos, Brazil, has a capacity of 190,000 tonnes of PS annually. BASF says it will continue to market ABS, SBS, and other styrenics copolymers in Brazil. The remaining South American market will be supplied with these products and with polystyrene from BASF sites in Antwerp, Belgium, and Altamira, Mexico. —[email protected]