Inventa-Fischer wins SF16m Chinese polyester plant order

LONDON (CNI)--Engineering firm Inventa-Fischer, a member of the Swiss Ems Chemie group, has won a contract from China's Shandong Zibo Universal New Materials to double the capacity of its polyester melt/chip plant to 400 000 tonne/year.

Inventa-Fischer said on Thursday it will design and supply a new 200 000 tonne/year production line for the plant which is at Zibo in Shandong Province. The contract is valued at SF16m ($11.7m/Euro10.4m) and production is scheduled to begin in mid 2005.

An Inventa-Fischer spokesman told CNI it expects to announce a SF25m contract for another polyester plant in China within the next two weeks. The group is also close to winning a contract in India, he added, but would give no further details.

Inventa-Fischer supplied Shandong Zibo Universal New Materials with a 200 000 tonne/year polyester melt/chip plant which started production on 26 November 2002.

The spokesman said Inventa-Fischer will order and supply the equipment, do the basic engineering for the new production line and take it into operation. Part of the contract includes a five year exchange of know-how where Inventa-Fischer will modify the plant, free of charge, if there are technical problems or advances in technology.

Terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol will be used as raw materials for the new line.