China’s Cangzhou Dahua to build new TDI facility in near term

GUANGZHOU (ICIS news)--China’s Hebei-based Cangzhou Dahua Chemical plans to start construction of a 100,000 tonne/year toluene diisocyanate (TDI) facility soon to more than double its TDI capacity, the company said on Wednesday.

The new facility at Cangzhou in northern China’s Hebei province would be constructed in two phases, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The first phase would have a capacity of 70,000 tonnes/year and it would be raised to 100,000 tonnes/year in the second phase, the statement said.

Construction of the yuan (CNY) 1.04bn ($152m) first phase would take two years and would be operational by 2012, the statement said. There was no detailed timetable for the second phase yet, it added.

The first phase would use the same technology as the firm’s 50,000 tonne/year existing line, licensed by Swedish International Chemical. The two sides had signed an agreement worth €7.5m ($10.6m) on the project last week, according to the statement.

The feedstock chlorine and caustic soda would be sourced from domestic suppliers, a company source said, adding that the firm’s TDI products would target domestic markets as well.

The company also runs a 30,000 tonnes/year second line at the same site, the source said. Both the lines were operating at full load, the source added.

Cangzhou Dahua said last week that its 2009 profits were estimated to have dropped 55-60% year on year due to sluggish product prices and long maintenance, coupled with unexpected shutdowns amid natural gas supply crunch.