MOSCOW (MRC) -- Equate (Kuwait City), Kuwait’s major petrochemical company owned 42.5% each by Petrochemical Industries Co. and Dow; 9% by local Boubyan Petrochemical Co. (PIC); and 6% by local group Qurain Petrochemical Industries, has appointed Naser Aldousari as the new CEO effective 1 October 2020, said Chemweek.
He succeeds Ramesh Ramachandran who will retire. Aldousari is currently senior vice president of Equate and has worked in the petrochemical industry for more than 24 years. His career includes several senior leadership roles with PIC and membership on the Equate and The Kuwait Olefins Co. boards of directors.
“As we enter a next phase of growth of Equate, [Naser] Aldousari is ideal to take over the leadership of [the] company. He has the experience, knowledge and vision to lead Equate through this challenging time and prepare it for new levels of success in the future,” said Sulaiman al-Marzouqi, chair of the Equate board.
Raja Zeidan, Equate lead director representing Dow, added, “We are looking forward to the leadership that Aldousari will bring to our organization. We also thank Dr. Ramachandran for the many milestones he achieved while CEO with MEGlobal and then CEO of Equate. He brought a new level of shareholder value and a global perspective that has become a core part of our identity and strategy."
Sudhir Shenoy, country president & CEO of Dow India, will succeed Aldousari as senior vice president of Equate effective 1 October 2020. Shenoy joined Dow in 1997 as a sales manager, moving into various management roles in sales, business, asset and commercial management. He managed large businesses, including polyurethanes and home & personal care and water solutions.
The board of Equate has also announced that Phisanu Sermchaiwong, currently Dow finance director – APAC, will return to Kuwait to take the role of CFO at Equate. He will replace Dawood Alabduljalil, CFO who will retire in October. Sermchaiwong roles at Dow included financial planning manager for North America, CFO of the SCG-Dow Group of joint ventures and finance director for Dow Thailand. In 2009, he was appointed global financial planning director for the Treasury department and in 2014 he was appointed CFO of Equate. He was appointed to his current role in 2018.
As MRC informed earlier, Equate to run SM 450,000 tonnes/year plant in Shuaiba, Kuwait at 80% till mid-June.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, April estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics in Russia was 36,170 tonnes, down by 12% year on year. Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 157,110 tonnes in January-April 2020, down by 5% year on year.
Equate Petrochemical Company K.S.C.C., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes petrochemical products. The company produces ethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, styrene monomer, paraxylene, heavy aromatics, and benzene; polyethylene for various applications, including flexible and food packaging, industrial packaging, agricultural films, HIC, and others; and monoethylene and diethylene glycol that are used in polyester fiber for fabrics, water-based adhesive materials, shoe polish, and printer inks, as well as automotive anti-freeze and coolants. The company sells its products in Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, North America, Asia, Europe, and internationally. Equate Petrochemical Company K.S.C.C. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Safat, Kuwait.
MRC