MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem has announced that it has completed construction of its newest polypropylene (PP) production facility at La Porte, Texas, reported Chemweek.
The new plant has a designed capacity of over 450,000 metric tons/year and has the capability to produce the entire PP portfolio including homopolymer, impact copolymer and random copolymers. The plant added 50 permanent full-time jobs to support long-term commercial production.
Mark Nikolich, Braskem America CEO, said, "… As commercial production begins later this year, Braskem will position the new facility's domestic production capabilities to replace imported polypropylene volumes, which are currently addressing the shortfall in the United States' domestic market. Commercial production activity at the facility, in conjunction with our new global export hub in Charleston, South Carolina, will also directly support Braskem's global export capability to its clients throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia."
The commissioning process is currently ongoing. During this phase, the company is concluding functional tests and process tests to verify performance of controls and integrated safety systems. Initial production test runs are anticipated to begin in the next month with the first full scale commercial production activity currently expected in the third quarter of 2020.
"The COVID impact on the North American polypropylene industry during April and May affected durable segments such as automotive. However, this impact was partially mitigated with strong sales in nonwovens and packaging applications. In June, demand improved and Braskem's North American polypropylene outlook for the third quarter is positive as clients are ramping up operations and demand has rebounded. Braskem’s… global supply chain has made preparations to leverage North America's competitive propylene and polypropylene position for exports supporting our clients in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The combination of improved demand, planned outages in the third quarter, and export opportunities will support a smooth ramp up of the new facility," said Alexandre Elias, vice president/polypropylene North America.
As MRC wrote before, Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem SA reported in early June a net loss of USD777 million in the first quarter compared with a profit of USD243 million a year ago, as foreign exchange oscillations led to higher financial expenses. The company said financial expenses grew to USD1.332 billion in the quarter ended March 31 from USD243 million a year ago, given the depreciation of the Brazilian real and the Mexican peso against the US dollar.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
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