Plant closures: SI to close alkylphenol manufacturing facility in Singapore; Solvay to shut down French facility for TFAs

US-based additives firm SI Group plans to close its alkylphenol manufacturing facility located on Jurong Island in Singapore in the second half of 2025. It adds that it will continue supplying alkylphenols from its global footprint with supply points in both Europe and the Americas.

SI opened its alkylphenol manufacturing plant on Jurong Island in 2006 to provide alkylphenols to Asia-Pacific consumers and for production of its antioxidant products. Yet, due to the substantial changes in the antioxidant value chain in the region in recent years, paired with high costs in Singapore, the company will cease production there next year.

“SI Group’s manufacturing facility in Singapore has been a valuable asset for our past growth and global presence,” said Joey Gullion, SVP & Chief Commercial Officer at SI Group. “However, the current supply-demand balances in Asia and the cost to manufacture in the region, make this a necessary move to ensure the long-term sustainability of our global business.”

With alkylphenol manufacturing facilities in Europe and the Americas, SI says it will maintain its “alkylphenol market leadership and uphold its customer and technical service support levels”.

“We’ve shifted our strategy in Asia-Pacific to better serve our customers’ needs. The region is important to our business, and we believe this new approach will help us balance the market dynamics with our cost position,” said David Bradley, President/CEO of SI Group. “Our recent partnership with Dingjide, along with the difficult but essential decision to close our Singapore site, underscores our commitment to serving our customers—we are now better equipped and excited to support our customers' growth, both now and in the future.”

SI Group’s Singapore manufacturing facility is expected to cease manufacturing operations in the second half of 2025. The company will provide support and assistance to all employees impacted by the plant closure, it added.

In other news, Belgian chemical firm Solvay has announced it will cease the production of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and its fluorinated derivatives at its Salindres site in France. Both are organic compounds classified as PFAS according to the OECD definition.

The envisaged discontinuation of these activities would result in the elimination of 68 positions assigned to the TFA and derivatives production between early 2025 and October 2025, it said in a statement.

The plan to cease production is due to the continued negative financial performance of the Salindres plant over the past few years, driven by unfavourable market conditions that are unlikely to improve in the future, Solvay said.

Solvay will record provisions of approximately EUR50 million in Q3 2024 in relation to this project. The majority of the corresponding cash-out will occur from 2025 onwards. The guidance for 2024 underlying EBITDA and FCF remains unchanged, it added.

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