APIC '07: GPPC Zhenjiang ABS expansion on track

18 May 2007 12:18  [Source: ICIS news]

TAIPEI (ICIS news)--Grand Pacific Petrochemical Co (GPPC), the Taiwanese styrenics producer, is on track to complete an expansion of its China acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plant in the third quarter, the company spokeswoman said on Friday.

 

The 100,000 tonne/year expansion at Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, will start up in September and raise its total capacity to 250,000 tonnes/year, its vice president Vivian Lin told ICIS news.

 

"Demand [for ABS] in China gradually picked up after the May holidays, but prices rose so fast that the buyers are now very careful when purchasing," she said, adding that buyers’ stock levels were low.

 

In Taiwan, the company has also raised its ABS capacity to 95,000 tonnes/year as its subsidiary switched one PS line to produce styrene acyronitrile (SAN) which feeds into its ABS unit, Lin said.

 

The subsidiary’s PS capacity was reduced to 46,000 tonnes/year from over 70,000 tonnes/year.

 

GPPC hopes to expand its 330,000 tonnes/year styrene monomer (SM) production by getting more feedstock from CPC Corp’s No 3 scrap-and-build cracker project.

 

“We can expand the 130,000 tonne/year line by adding 300,000-500,000 tonnes/year of capacity depending on the amount of feedstock we get,” Lin said.

 

Despite not being integrated, the company has been profitable in the last 20 years.

 

“Our total operating income exceeded New Taiwan dollar (NT$) 15bn ($450m), but we lost only NT$500-600m, Lin said, attributing the good performance to cost control and efficiency.

 

“Unlike large companies, we have flexibility in sales and marketing and can make decisions faster.”

 

The company planned to further cut its operations cost by building a cogeneration plant at its Kaohsiung site.

 

It was selecting a contractor and the project will take two years to complete, Lin said.

 

($1=NT$33.37)

By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

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