MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsubishi Chemical Corp (MCC) has agreed to acquire Swiss engineering plastics recycler Minger Group - consisting of Minger Kunststofftechnik AG and Minger Plastic AG, the Japanese chemicals major said.
Based on the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings (MCHC) Group’s KAITEKI Vision 30, MCC makes the circular economy a key element, and plastics recycling is an important initiative within this basic policy.
The Minger Group has strong proprietary recycling technologies for engineering plastics like polyether ether ketone (PEEK), poly vinylidene difluoride (PVDF), and nylon. It possesses a material collection network that spans a wide area of Europe, a track record of recycled material transactions with over 100 customers, and an established business model for recycling engineering plastics in the region.
The acquisition will allow MCC to establish an integrated business model for engineering plastics, from manufacturing to sales, machining, collection, and reuse. Going forward, the company will continue to strengthen its capability to propose solutions to users in the engineering plastics industry and will contribute to the realisation of a recycling-based society.
Appenzell-based Minger has proprietary recycling technologies for engineering plastics like polyether ether ketone (PEEK), poly vinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and nylon, along with a material collection network that spans a wide area of Europe, MCC said.
As MRC informed earlier, Mitsubishi Chemical has a steam cracker in Kashima with an ethylene production capacity of 564,000 mt/year. It shut one steam cracker there in 2014 - which has an ethylene production capacity of 375,000 mt/year -- following a sluggish petrochemical demand in the country.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.
MRC