Artlant begins testing 700,000 tonne/year PTA plant in Portugal

28 July 2011 11:27  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Artlant PTA’s 700,000 tonne/year purified terephthalate (PTA) plant in Sines, Portugal, has entered its commissioning phase, the company said on Thursday.

The plant represents an investment of over €500m ($714m), the company added.

Artlant has started conducting tests on all the plant's installed equipment and analysis will be carried out over the next three months. Production is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2011.

“The main objective of the commissioning is to ensure that all the equipment is ready to run in a perfect way, with the highest degree of safety and productivity,” Artlant said.

Artlant, which changed its name from Artenius Sines in February 2011, said the plant’s annual income could exceed €600m, taking into account the present prices in the international market.

The company said its key market is Europe, but added that its target regions also include Africa, the Middle East, India and Brazil.

As part of its restructuring, La Seda de Barcelona (LSB) sold 59% of its stake in Artlant to three Portuguese investment funds in September last year.

PTA is used as the feedstock in the production of polyester polymers, commonly designated as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and mainly used in the manufacture of packaging for the food industry and in the manufacture of polyester fibres for the textile market.

($1 = €0.70)

By: Franco Capaldo
+44 (0)20 8652 3214

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