Expansions: Westlake acquires German PVC/VCM plants; Dai-ichi upgrades Indian plant with expanded ethoxylation capacity
US chemical firm Westlake Corporation has announced that its German subsidiary, Westlake Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG, has completed the previously-announced acquisition of a polyvinyl chloride and vinyl chloride monomer production site located in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The Wilhelmshaven plant, which was previously in insolvency administration, has the capacity to produce 380,000 tonnes/year of PVC per year. Terms were not disclosed.
“This acquisition strengthens our Performance & Essential Materials business by expanding our global chlorovinyls manufacturing footprint and complements our existing chlorovinyl production facilities in Europe and North America,” said Jean-Marc Gilson, President/CEO of Westlake.
“The Wilhelmshaven plant, which is located in Lower Saxony on Germany’s North Sea coast, benefits from advantageous logistical infrastructure, including a deep-water dock that enables efficient raw-materials supply. We look forward to welcoming the site’s employees to our Westlake family.”
In other news, Indian specialty chemicals maker Dai-ichi Karkaria recently inaugurated its upgraded manufacturing facility at its Dahej site in Gujarat, with a significant expansion of ethoxylation production capacity.
The upgrade also adds multi-product manufacturing capacity for greater operational flexibility, modernises the pour point depressant (PPD) plant with advanced materials of construction, and integrates automated process controls across the site, according to the company.
Commissioned in 2018 in the PCPIR zone of Dahej, the facility spans 48,839 sq m and houses two independent manufacturing blocks — oilfield and EO/PO. It produces alkoxylates, their derivatives, and oilfield chemicals.
The company, established in 1963 in technical collaboration with Japan's Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku, also operates plants at Kurkumbh in Maharashtra for polyelectrolytes and at Jejuri, Maharashtra, through a joint venture with SLB-owned ChampionX for upstream oil and gas production chemistry.
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