MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Lubrizol factory in Rouen "restarted during the night from Friday to Saturday (14 December)," said Frederic Henry, president of Lubrizol France, on France Bleu Seine maritime/Eure, less than three months after the fire that hit this site, reported EN24.
The prefecture had given the green light on 13 December for this partial reopening, "limited to two small mixing and solubilization units, not involving a chemical reaction".
Shortly before the prefectural decree was published, Lubrizol France’s general manager Isabelle Striga said Friday that production could resume the next day. Lubrizol has on its site "put a fence that allows us to clean the site for the next few months and meanwhile continue to make mixtures," added Frederic Henry on Monday. The palisade "separates the factory in two pieces, that is to say the warehouse that burned, and 90% of the site that did not burn at all, where this production restarted this weekend" , said the president of Lubrizol France. On Friday, the prefecture said there were "900 drums to be removed" from the site, including "around 70 with some sensitivity."
Lubrizol still believes that the fire did not start from its site. "There are a lot of things that tell us that it did not start from home and that a huge energy came to us," said Frederic Henry on France Bleu. Asked about a complete restart of the factory, the president of Lubrizol France replied: "To see. No doubt it will be in stages. For the moment that is not the subject. We have to leave a little time to see how the orders arrive if the orders arrive correctly think maybe of opening another unit. "The viability of the Rouen site was compromised from mid-November. Every day that passed, we lost customers who went to see elsewhere. So it was very important to restart as soon as possible", he added.
As MRC wrote previously, in August 2015, S and L Specialty Polymers Co., a joint venture of Sekisui Chemicals (51%) and Lubrizol Advanced Materials (49%), started up its new chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) plant on the Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The plant, built at a cost of about USD 50-million, has the capacity to produce 30,000 t/y of CPVC. The venture plans to increase capacity to 40,000 t/y in 2016, and possibly to 60,000 t/y in the future.
According to MRC's DataScope report, exports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from Russia totalled 175,600 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 22% year on year. Imports into the country increased more significantly - by 230% year on year to 48,500 tonnes.
The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol"s advanced polymer technology delivers exceptional performance for the plumbing, fire sprinkler, industrial and other building and construction related applications. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers" high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth.
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