Dow Chemical closes Wilton ethylene oxide, glycols plant

27 January 2010 18:23  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Dow Chemical ceased ethylene oxide and monoethylene glycol (EO/MEG) production at its Wilton, UK plant on 18 January, according to plan, a company source confirmed on Wednesday.

Market players had previously said that they did not expect any impact following the closure, and had already sourced product elsewhere.

Dow said in July 2009 that it planned to close the EO/MEG plant due to unfavourable profit margins which had been exacerbated by the weak economic climate.

The closure was widely seen as a major blow to the Wilton petrochemicals complex in the northeast of the UK.

The company declined to comment on Wednesday on the exact capacities at the Wilton site, but according to the ICIS plants & projects database, Dow's EG capacity at Wilton was 275,000 tonnes/year and its EO capacity 320,000 tonnes/year.

Earlier on Wednesday the sale of the Artenius UK purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) assets at Wilton to Lotte’s KP Chemicals was confirmed by the administrators of the business.

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By: Heidi Finch
+44 20 8652 3214

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