outsider, but achieving colour stabilityor problem-free printing and adhesionfor your product can make it a winner.So far, so good.

But there are worries too. We alsoreport (under the heading of“Production capacity”) that keepingPVC and its associated additivesproduction plants going smoothly hasnot been easy lately. Moon trips maybe ancient history, but chemical plantsdesigned to survive foreseeableexternal threats, like floods and powersurges, are still science fiction. (Tosay nothing of terrorist attack). It isalso reported that two manufacturersof PVC construction products havedecided to set aside money forpossible future claims relating to thecolour stability of their products.Whether the problems relate to PVCitself, the additives in the formulation,or the process, or whatever, theindustry does not need adversepublicity at the moment.

Geoff Pritchard

market in Jan-May 2002. Oxy VinylsLP (which reported an improvement inprofit margins) warned that restrictedsupplies of chlorine over the comingfew years (because of depression onthe caustic soda market) will influencethe PVC market. For 2Q 2002Georgia Gulf Corp posted a 30% risein profits in its chlorovinyls division to$43 M thanks to the increase in pricesand a larger volume of sales.

Plastics News, 16 Aug 2002 (Website:http://www.plasticsnews.com)

Petchem producers must adopt pro-active strategies to improve profits

A detailed revue of globalpetrochemicals manufacturing,focusing on: thermoplastics, refining,aromatics, methanol, and response tocompetition. Tables show: Middle Eastethylene projects (Iran (7 projects),Saudi Arabia (1), Qatar (4), Kuwait(1), and Egypt (1)), ethylenederivative demand growth (ethylbenzene, ethylene dichloride, vinylchloride, ethylene oxide, HDPE,

LDPE, and LLDPE, also operatingrates, plant capacities, and markets),and global thermoplastics growth (7polymers, 7 countries/regions).

Oil and Gas Journal, 12 Aug 2002, 100 (32), 52-54

Chemical consumption burgeoning inIndonesia; PVC to record level

Political stability and high personalincomes have combined to give theIndonesian economy a boost.Demand for PVC in the rigid pipe andpublic works sectors is flat, butdemand is growing for its use inpackaging by 10% and the domesticmarket is expected to reach 270,000-280,000 tonnes in 2002. Demand forother resins is also buoyant.

Japan Chemical Week, 22 Aug 2002, 43 (2184), 10

Europe: PVC prices edge upwards inJuly, but then slow down

PVC producers failed to imposehigher prices in Jul 2002, and settledinstead for a price hike of around€20/tonne. One manufacturer wasaiming to raise PVC prices by€100/tonne in Sep and Oct 2002, butothers believed that €50-60/tonnewas more feasible. By mid-Septemberthe latter view seemed justified.Suspension PVC had been selling inAugust at just below €500/tonne.Prices in China were also stabilising,and this was supposed to furthertighten supply in Europe.

European Plastics News, Sep 2002, 29 (8), 11

COMPANYNEWS

Flood damage: Unipetrol seeks stateaid for Spolana, and rival Borsodchemcashes in

Spolana (Neratovice, Czech Republic)estimates the damage to property andlost profit consequent on the mid-Aug2002 floods at between CEK 850 Mand 1.05 bn. Of this, lost productionand sales is estimated at CEK 350 M.Spolana is the largest producer ofPVC (and the only producer of alphaolefins) in the Czech Republic. The

company exports over 80% of itsproduction, mainly to Germany andthe US. For 10 years the companyhas been highly unprofitable becauseof a CEK 1 bn credit of 1988 for newJapanese technologies for anambitious linear alpha-olefin unit. In2001 the Czech government soldSpolana to the state holdingpetrochemical company Unipetrol(Czech Republic) after its previousattempts to find a buyer had failed.

Unipetrol (Czech Republic) hasnow asked the state for CEK 1.5 bn tohelp with the restarting of Spolana.Damage is severe, and is additional toa furnace incident at the 130,000tonne/y facilities in June. The sumsmentioned above would only coverthe restarting of operations, whichcould not be achieved before the endof Nov 2002. There is also a need toraise Spolana’s security standards,notably in chlorine production, so thetrue cost of restoring the companycould rise by as much as CEK 150 M.Spolana has a good insurance policyand expects to get about CEK 300 Mcompensation, but the firm is notexpected to restart production beforeend Oct 2002. Spolana is the mostimportant consumer of ethylene fromChemopetrol (Czech Republic), sothere will be a knock-on effect on thiscompany too. Chemopetrol will havedifficulty finding new customers,because the ethylene is transportedby pipeline.

On 15 and 23 Aug 2002, chlorinegas leaked from the Neratovice PVCfacilities of Spolana during floods fromthe river Labe. The government hasreplaced the head of the companywith the head of Chemopetrol,another subsidiary of Unipetrol. Thedismissal is believed to be partly dueto lies told about the chlorine leaks.Meanwhile, Agrofert Holdings says itcannot complete the €361 Macquisition of a 63% stake in Unipetrolfrom the Czech government – partlybecause of the effect of the floods.Agrofert wants to renegotiate theterms of the deal because ofUnipetrol’s weakening balance sheet.Analysts say Agrofert is havingtrouble raising financing for thetransaction.

Apart from Spolana’s problems, in1Q-2Q 2002, PVC production wasreduced to zero by Zaklady AzotoweTarnowie Moscicach (Tarnow) at itsfacilities, which have a capacity of

2 OCTOBER 2002

F O C U S O N P O L Y V I N Y L C H L O R I D E

Editorial (continued from page 1 )

PRICES AND DEMAND

Suspension PVC prices climb in US(continued from page 1 )