Kraton idles production at plants in US, Europe

23 December 2008 15:02  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--Kraton Polymers is suspending certain production of styrenic block copolymers (SBCs) at a number of its global production facilities, affecting about 50% of its global capacity, the US-based producer of engineered polymers said in a statement on Tuesday.

Some of the affected production in the US and Europe had already been taken off line while other capacity would be taken off line over the next several days, the company said.

“Given the rapid and unprecedented deflation in prices for petrochemical-based feed stocks, the impact of such deflation on our current inventory values, and a general de-stocking occurring in most of the down-stream value chains we serve, we have decided to take these actions to diligently manage our cash flow,” David Bradley, chief operating officer, said.

“We plan to keep affected capacity idle until we see a more normalised order pattern from our customers, expected early in the new year,” he added.

A media official at Kraton's headquarters in Houston was not immediately available for additional comment.

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