suppliers. The outcome of its effortswill affect other applications such ascar interiors and shrink sleeve labelsfor PET bottles, as well asconstruction. Recycling developmentwon’t all be money down the drain,though. Provided that collection ofPVC waste can be well organized,profits will be made in the PVCrecycling industry. The news fromJapan is that more use is made ofPVC waste than of most other typesof plastics. PVC products destined forthe building industry might keep thecitizens of Seattle awake at night, butthey present easier collection andrecycling challenges than many otherPVC markets. The question thereforearises whether PVC building productsare being targeted byenvironmentalists as particularlydangerous products (if so, it seemsperverse) or simply because suchproducts do more than most to keepthe PVC industry on a healthy growthcurve. Seattle should look at Slovakia,which has just backed down from anattempt to ban PVC altogether.

Geoff Pritchard

PRICES AND DEMAND

Robust demand...(continued from page 1 )

The plant was acquired by Shintechfrom Borden Chemicals and Plasticsin Feb 2002. It has since beenconverted to Shintech’s proprietarytechnology. A 600 M lbs/y plant wasidled by Borden at Geismar, LA, US inMar 2002 due to a shortage offeedstock. PVC margins increased by2 cts/lb during 2Q 2002 and areexpected to increase by a further 0.5cts/lb in 3Q 2002. The full yearaverage is expected to be 2.5 cts/lb. Agraph details annual US PVC marginsfrom 1999 to 2003. 100% productionwas required from PVC producersduring 2Q 2002 to meet demand.Inventories are very low. Rises in thePVC price in the US could attractimports from Asia/Pacific. Asiandemand has softened causing pricesthere to fall to $520-550/tonne c&fChina in early Jul 2002 from a peak of$700-710/tonne c&f in Apr 2002. Anoutage at Unipetrol’s 120,000tonnes/y PVC plant at Soplana in theCzech Republic has caused the PVC

market in Europe to tighten. Feedstocksupplies to the plant were cut off byCeska Rafinerska in Jun 2002. Theprice of PVC in Europe was unchangedin Jun 2002 at €740-760/tonne.

Chemical Week, 3/10 Jul 2002, 164 (27), 77

COMPANYNEWS

BorsodChem seeks new supplier ofethylene

BorsodChem, Hungary, is almosttotally reliant on its former partner,TVK, for feedstock supplies.BorsodChem is Hungary’s largestPVC producer with a capacity of330,000 tonnes/y. In 2001 itsrelationship with TVK deteriorated asit was forced to pay a premium of3.5% for its feedstocks. BorsodChemwould like to buy its ethylene fromOriana in the Ukraine, but TVK ownsthe portion of the shared pipeline inHungary and does not want torelinquish its monopoly. BorsodChemis thus seeking a new strategic partnerto solve the feedstock problem. Thecompany is to raise its VCM capacityfrom 185,000 tonnes/y to 250,000tonnes/y and then 320,000 tonnes/y,with all work completed by 2Q 2004.

European Chemical News, 15 Jul 2002, 77 (2014), 22& Chemie Produktion, Jul-Aug 2002, (7-8), 10

New developments at Vinnolit

Vinnolit has chosen Shawnee Chemicalto distribute its PVC resins fordispersion, blending and thermoplasticspecialties in the US. The products aredistributed by Selladores Tensoactivosy Especialidades Quimicas in Mexicoand by Henley Chemicals in Canada.

Vinnolit has invested more than €130 M in a modernisation project atVintron GmbH at the chemicals parkin Knapsack (Germany) targeting theentire electrolysis production unit. Theproject will secure the supply of rawmaterials, and represents thebackward integration of the parentcompany Vinnolit GmbH & Co KG.Vinnolit and Vintron are owned byAdvent International.

Kunststoffe, Jul 2002, 92 (7), 6 & Chemical MarketReporter, 15 Jul 2002 (Website:http://www.chemicalmarketreporter.com) & ChemicalWeek, 3/10 Jul 2002, 164 (27), 77

Solvay 2001: Plastics sector

For fiscal 2001, the plastics division ofSolvay SA has reported sales of€2624 M (€3000 M in fiscal 2000),EBIT of €70 M (€230 M), capitalexpenditure of €942 M (€253 M),R&D costs of €49 M (€47 M), andheadcount of 4797 (5852). There is adetailed analysis of the performancesof the product group specialitypolymers (PVDF, PVDC, PVC, HDPE)and a brief discussion of selectedresearch and technologyachievements.

Solvay Annual Report 2001, 30 Apr 2002, 21-23(Solvay SA, Rue du Prince Albert 33, Brussels,Belgium. Tel: +32 2509 6111. Fax: +32 2509 6617.Website: http://www.solvay.com)

Braskem : New petrochemical giant isborn

Copene, Brazil, has announced anEGM of shareholders on 16 Aug2002, to adopt the name Braskem, forthe chemical assets of Petroquimicado Nordeste (Copene), Odebrechtand Mariani. The latter two acquired acontrolling interest in Copene in Jul2001. After the meeting it is expectedthat capital stock will rise from aboutR$1.2 bn to R$1.85 bn with the issueof 580 M new common shares andaround 1 M preferred class A shares.This will be the largest petrochemicalcompany in Latin America. The recenthistory is discussed. Production willbe mainly at 3 sites: Camacari,Alagoas and Triunfo. There arepossibilities at these sites for expansionin capacities for polyethylene (PE),polypropylene (PP), styrene, polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polyethyleneterephthalate (PET). A pie chart fromOPP entitled Polyolefins and PVCleadership in Mercosur, shows thepercentage by company for each ofthe polymers PP, PE and PVC.

European Chemical News, 5-18 Aug 2002, 77 (2017),7,10

PolyOne reports improved 2Q 2002earnings

PolyOne Corp reported revenues of$692 M and net income of $6.1 M for2Q ended Jun 2002. Financial resultsfor 2Q 2001 and 1Q and 2Q 2002 areprovided in a table. Results for 1H2001 and 2002 is given in anothertable. PolyOne International PlasticCompounds and Colors (PCC)

2 SEPTEMBER 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 )