Ticona to relocate plants to Wiesbaden or Hoechst

26 March 2007 17:27  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Ticona said on Monday it will relocate its engineering polymers facilities in Kelsterbach, Germany, to Wiesbaden or Hoechst, both in the Rhine-Main area.

The company agreed last year to move its production of Hostaform polyacetal copolymer (POM) and Celstran long fibre reinforced thermoplastics production to make way for a new runway at Frankfurt airport.

By remaining in the Rhine-Main area, “we will be able to continue to rely on our experienced and motivated Kelsterbach employees”, said Lyndon Cole, Ticona’s president.

The Kelsterbach plants, which produce about 100,000 tonnes/year of POM and 20,000 tonnes/year of long fibre reinforced thermoplastics, were expected to be dismantled in mid-2011, following the start-up of the new units at the end of 2009.

Ticona plans to reach full production at the new site, which was expected to be selected by the end of the second quarter this year, in mid-2010, said a company spokesman.

The capacities have not yet been decided but they could exceed those at Kelsterbach, he added.

“During the next weeks, we will work intensively to make our final selection between sites located at the industrial parks in Wiesbaden and Hoechst,” said Cole.

Details of the project followed the announcement on Monday of a final agreement between the airport authority, Fraport, and Ticona.

Welcoming Ticona’s decision to relocate the production within the Rhine-Main region, Fraport said that a ‘job creation company’, envisaged in case Ticona moved outside the region, could now be dispensed with.

Under the agreement, Ticona’s entire Kelsterbach site will be transferred to Fraport by the end of 2013, two years earlier than originally planned, and Fraport will pay €670m ($893m) towards the cost of dismantling and rebuilding the plants.

Fraport said it was paying €20m above the previously agreed compensation of €650m in return for not having to take over and retrain Ticona staff, for receiving the site ahead of time and for taking over the plant facilities.

Ticona said all of its approximately 1000 employees at Kelsterbach would be relocated to sites in the Rhine-Main region. Support staff would not necessarily be relocated to the new production site, added the spokesman.

($1 = €0.75)

By: Anna Jagger
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly