Plock, Poland, February 28, 2003 – The new polyolefins joint venture owned equally by PKN Orlen and Basell will begin operations tomorrow (March 1).
The new joint venture company, which will produce and market polyethylene and polypropylene in Poland, will be led by a four-member management board comprised of Hartmut Lueker, President and CEO; Malgorzata Wisnicka-Hincza, Chief Financial Officer; Marek Karol Sep, Vice President Manufacturing, and Wido Waelput, Vice President Marketing and Sales. The company’s registered head office is in Plock, Poland.
"The new company will benefit from the strengths of both of its shareholders," said Lueker. "From PKN Orlen we obtain local market expertise and feedstock integration; from Basell we gain a link to a global polyolefins technology leader with broad experience in production and sales around the world."
At start-up, the new company will operate the 150 KT LDPE and 140 KT PP plants that PKN contributed to the new company until two new world-scale plants are built in Plock.
"The new joint venture will invest approximately € 500 million in the new units," said Wisnicka-Hincza. "They will be a 400 KT Spheripol process polypropylene plant and a 320 KT Hostalen high density polyethylene plant." Start-up of the new plants is planned for 2005. Feedstock will be provided from PKN Orlen’s ethylene cracker; the cracker will be expanded to 660 KT to ensure a sufficient raw materials supply.
The new Joint Venture is in the process of registering a new company name. The intention is to have the name Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. z o.o.
About PKN ORLEN:
PKN ORLEN is one of the largest companies in Central Europe, with listings on the Warsaw and London Stock Exchanges and the OTC market in the United States. It is Poland’s largest petrochemical producer and refiner of crude oil and marketer of world-class petroleum and related products. It has a substantial wholesale and retail distribution system that includes the largest network of service stations in Poland. It also has significant financial investments in the telecommunications sectors in Poland.
About Basell:
Basell develops, produces and markets polypropylene, polyethylene, advanced polyolefin materials and polyolefin catalysts, and also develops and licenses polyolefin processes. Basell, including its joint ventures, serves customers in more than 120 countries with materials produced in 18 countries. Basell's corporate centre is located in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands; the company has regional offices in Wilmington, Delaware, USA; Brussels, Belgium; Mainz, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Hong Kong, as well as manufacturing facilities and sales offices in the major markets around the globe.
For additional information contact:
--Isabelle Trocherie of Basell’s Corporate Communications Department at +33 6 80 47 80 23 or isabelle.trocherie@basell.com
--Krzysztof Rogala, Press Officer of PKN ORLEN at +48 22 695 3425 or Krzysztof.Rogala@orlen.pl
--Agnieszka Szala, Basell Orlen Polyolefins Communications Department at +48 24 365 5445
Spheripol and Hostalen are trademarks owned or used by Basell. Hostalen is registered in the U.S Patent and Trademark Office.
