NPRA '02: Polybrasil to close Sao Paolo PP plant for 6 mos

24 March 2002 18:39  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (CNI)--Brazilian polypropylene (PP) producer Polibrasil plans to shutdown its 125 000 tonne/year PP plant at Capuava, Maua in Sao Paulo state early next year for at least six months, a company official said here Sunday.

Jose Ricardo Roriz Coelho, commercial director for Polibrasil, told CNI today the firm’s older PP plant at Capuava will be sidelined for at least half a year after Polibrasil’s new 300 000 tonne/year PP facility comes on stream at the Capuava site in November this year.

But Roriz Coelho said Polibrasil has no plans to shutter the older facility permanently. "We will wait and see what the market does after the new plant comes on line," he said.

He said PP demand in Brazil has continued reasonably strong despite the global economic downturn, with PP demand up by about 7-8% last year. That is less than the 11% annual PP demand growth Polibrasil had forecast earlier, but still enough growth to require a new PP plant for Brazil’s domestic market every three years, he said.

With the US economy apparently beginning to rebound, Roriz Coelho said his company wants to keep the older PP plant at Capuava available for extra capacity if needed.

A joint venture between Basell and Suzano, Polibrasil has another 125 000 tonne PP plant at Camacari in the north and a 200 000 tonne PP unit at Rio de Janeiro.

Roriz Coelho said Polibrasil exported only some 50 000 tonne of its PP output last year and does not anticipate any significant increase in PP export after the new plant comes on line later this year.

Roriz Coelho spoke with CNI today at the opening of the 27^th annual International Petrochemicals Conference (IPC). The IPC continues through Tuesday.

By: Joe Kamalick
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