Invista considers selling North America polymer and resin assets

21 July 2010 22:03  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US polyethylene terephthalate (PET) producer Invista is considering the sale of its polymer and resin assets in North America, a company spokesperson said on Thursday.

The company was about two weeks into a market assessment of the polyester-based polymer and resin sector to evaluate if any suitors placed more value on the assets than Invista did, said spokesperson Jodie Stutzman.

The outcome of the research could result in Invista keeping the plants, which "would continue operating and driving strategies for each site to maximize long-term value," Stutzman said.

Invista's polyester and resin business includes products such as PET, dimethyl terephatlate (DMT) and specialty polymers.

The company operates a 180,000 tonne/year PET plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, according to ICIS data.

The company's evaluation also included plants at Queretaro, Mexico, and portions of a site in Wilmington, North Carolina. Invista's Terate polyols business at Wilmington was excluded from the market assessment, according to Stutzman.

Invista was not the only US PET maker to openly evaluate its assets. Eastman's top executive told a conference in June that the company was open to selling its PET technology and assets.

For more on Invista's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant, visit ICIS plants and projects
For more on polyethylene terephthalic (PET) visit ICIS chemical intelligence 
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