SolVin declares force majeure on Tavaux PVC due to strike

21 October 2010 17:16  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--SolVin has declared force majeure (FM) on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production from its 300,000 tonnes/year site in Tavaux, France, due to a lack of raw material ethylene as a result of ongoing strike action, a company source on Thursday.

“We normally have our own supply of [upstream] VCM [vinyl chloride monomer] but without raw material ethylene, no VCM can be produced,” the source said.

SolVin, a joint venture between BASF and Solvay, declared the FM on Wednesday. 

The same source continued: “We have had some assistance from our other sites elsewhere in Europe, and have been assisted where possible, but there was not enough available to compensate for the loss of production in France’ so force majeure was declared.”

This latest declaration was also prompted by the strike action currently underway in France. With three FM’s already in place, it looks set to exacerbate an already difficult supply position in Europe.

Earlier, a Total company source said it had been forced to make an FM declaration on polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene because of the strikes.

For more on SolVin, visit ICIS plants and projects
For more on PVC and VCM visit ICIS chemical intelligence
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Sian Jones
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly