Spain’s Plastiverd aims to raise sales by 36% in 2015, 2016

Interview article by Jonathan Lopez and Caroline Murray

LONDON (ICIS)–Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) producer Plastiverd plans to increase its revenue in 2015 and 2016 by 36% to €300m after a €16m overhaul at its plants in El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, the Spanish firm’s CEO said late on Wednesday.

Jose Luis Morlanes said Plastiverd will continue focusing on the commodity chemicals segments with its PET production although “tech polymers are part of our know-how and current business.”

Plastiverd includes La Seda de Barcelona’s PET assets in Spain after the firm went into bankruptcy in 2013. Plastiverd’s PET capacity has two lines totalling 185,000 tonnes/year, according to Morlanes. 

“Our natural market [for PET] is the south of Europe and the northern Mediterranean riviera. Therefore, it makes much more sense for us to become a very good local supplier in those two areas instead of trying to be an occasional exporter [to the rest of the world],” said the CEO in an emailed interview.

Morlanes added Plastiverd would overcome the problem of overcapacity in the global PET market by offering “quality, security in the supply and competitive prices.”

After the significant investments worldwide in the PET industry, Plastiverd’s CEO said the sharp volatility in market prices will create problems for plants with large capacities, which in the end would be “more of a problem” than a solution, he said.

“China is a good example. Equally, it is good to remember that ‘old’ in [our] case also means experience, know-how and organisation,” Morlanes said.

On feedstocks, the CEO said Plastiverd would always prioritise sourcing locally. Artlant PTA, another of the resulting assets from La Seda de Barcelona sold in 2014 and located in Portugal, would be a potential feedstock supplier, but Morales said no commitments had yet been made.

Artlant PTA is due to restart this month after a lengthy period out of the market.

“At the moment we don’t have any formal commitment with feedstock suppliers. However, the company’s intention is certainly to prioritise local suppliers,” he concluded.

Morlanes is also the CEO of Industrias Quimicas del Oxido del Etileno (IQOXE), the resultant firm producing ethylene oxide (EO) and downstream ethylene glycol (EG) from the assets of the beleaguered La Seda de Barcelona (LSB).

Together with Plastiverd, IQOXE comes under the umbrella of Spanish company Cristian Lay. The new management is committed to investing €16m towards the overhaul of the facilities in the Barcelona area, northeast Spain, which were LSB’s flagship production sites.

“[A 36% increase in revenue for Plastiverd and IQOXE] is an ambitious target but we trust we can achieve it simply with the sale agreements signed by IQOXE for 2016 and the development of the relationship with Plastiverd’s current customers,” said Morlanes.

According to the ICIS Plants and Projects database, IQOXE’s EO nameplate capacity stands at 140,000 tonnes/year and EG production capacity totals 100,000 tonnes/year.