Borealis invests EUR 200 million in new Borstar polyolefin capacity
Borealis today announced an EUR 200 million investment in the construction of a new 350,000 tonnes per year polyethylene plant, based on its proprietary Borstar technology, and a 90,000 tonnes per year expansion of the existing Borstar polypropylene plant at its petrochemical site at Schwechat, Austria. The new capacity will come onstream in 2005.
"Investing EUR 200 million in our leading bimodal Borstar technology will further strengthen our capabilities to create and deliver value to our customers and owners," says Chief Executive John Taylor. "This investment is a major milestone in the implementation of our strategy of becoming a leading, integrated polyolefins supplier. It establishes Schwechat, Austria, as a world class competitive site with an annual polyolefin capacity of around 1 million tonnes, located in the centre of Europe."
When the new Borstar polyethylene plant is onstream, Borealis will phase out two old LDPE lines and a HDPE line at the production site in Schwechat, resulting in a net capacity increase of around 150,000 tonnes polyethylene per year.
Borealis' expansion plans at Schwechat, near Vienna, are closely linked to OMV's expansion of the nearby cracker. OMV is a 25% shareholder of Borealis. "The synergy of these projects is a good example of the close feedstock integration between Borealis and our owners," says John Taylor. "OMV is the major supplier of olefins to our polyolefins plants in Austria and Germany."
"The new Borstar polyethylene plant will enable us to capture the growing demand for linear low-density polyethylene for enhanced, differentiated film products for flexible consumer packaging and industrial applications," says David Rolph, Executive Vice President Polyolefins Business Group. "The advantages of the bimodal Borstar technology are well recognised and provide our customers with the benefits of material savings while maintaining excellent mechanical properties and good processability."
"Since the start-up of Borealis' first Borstar polypropylene plant in 2000, we have successfully launched a number of advanced polypropylene grades for film, fibre and moulding applications," says David Rolph. "The additional feedstock enables us to expand the polypropylene plant to produce up to 300,000 tonnes per year, providing us with the opportunity to meet our customers' demands for increased supplies of enhanced products."
When the additional polyolefins capacity in Austria comes onstream by 2005, it will increase the total world-wide Borstar capacity to 1.75 million tonnes.
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