Basell announced today that it plans to expand capacity at its Bayport, Texas site by restarting a polypropylene plant that has been inactive since 2001. The company currently operates two Spheripol process plants at Bayport with a combined annual nameplate capacity of 530 KT.
The plant to be restarted also uses the Spheripol process and has a nameplate capacity of 220 KT. This plant will be fully refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art innovations. Start-up is scheduled for the second quarter of 2008.
Michael Mulrooney, president of Basell Polyolefins North America, said, “Restarting the Bayport plant is an extremely cost effective way to add capacity. In addition, synergies from operating multiple production lines at the same site will reduce unit fixed costs for all three lines and improve our overall cost position.”
Mulrooney added, “While the North American market has experienced little or no growth over the last two years, Basell is currently in a sold out position and our plants are now fully loaded. New initiatives to expand the addressable market for polypropylene are starting to gain momentum. We are confident that our new innovation-focused initiatives, such as continued inter-material replacement with more cost effective polypropylene solutions, and the growing demand for Metocene polypropylene, will lead to higher growth.”
In North America, Basell also operates two polypropylene lines in Lake Charles, Louisiana as well as plants in Sarnia, Ontario and Varennes, Quebec. Basell’s joint venture in Mexico, Indelpro, operates a Spheripol process line and is building a new 350 KT Spherizone polypropylene plant at Altimira which will start up in 2008.
Basell is the global leader in polyolefins technology, production and marketing. It is the largest producer of polypropylene and advanced polyolefin products; a leading supplier of polyethylene and catalysts, and the industry leader in developing, licensing and providing technical services for polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. Basell, together with its joint ventures, has manufacturing facilities around the world and sells products in more than 120 countries. Additional information about Basell is available at www.basell.com.
For more information contact Mark Mendelson, Basell Corporate Communications, at +1 410 996 1319 or mark.mendelson@basell.com
