Explosion closes Wuxi Xingda EPS unit in China

10 June 2008 07:51  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Wuxi Xingda Foam Plastics, a major Chinese producer of expandable polystyrene (EPS), has shut down its 400,000 tonne/year facility in Wuxi, eastern China due to an explosion early Tuesday, market sources said.  

Details about the incident remained sketchy with the company not available for comment. It was heard there were some casualties and even one death, traders said.

Various market sources said the plant had been shut down with no start-up date ventured. The incident was heard to be severe which could render the facility inoperative for an unknown length of time.

"The explosion and subsequent fire was heard to have severely damaged the facility. Some people speculated that the unit could be down for several months," said a market source.

Xingda operates another 240,000 tonne/year unit in Jiangsu province which the company bought over from Jiangsu Chengda Petrochemical in 2005. It also has a smaller unit of 60,000 tonnes/year located in Changzhou which it bought over from Taiwan’s Ming Dih Group in 2006.

The company is currently building another 280,000 tonne/year facility in Huizhou, southern China. The unit is slated to come on stream later this year.

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By: Clive Ong
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