Corrected: Trinseo sees growth for Performance Materials businesses

Nigel Davis

06-Feb-2015

Correction: In the ICIS story headlined “Trinseo sees growth for Performance Materials businesses” dated 6 February 2015, please read in the final paragraph …from when it reports its first quarter results in the second half of 2015… instead of …when it reports its fourth quarter and full year 2014 financial results on 2 March… Also clarifies Schkopau SSBR capacity detail in 11th paragraph. A corrected story follows. 

Trinseo sees growth for Performance Materials businessesInterview article by Nigel Davis

LONDON (ICIS)–Trinseo is expecting strong growth from its performance materials businesses with high tech products sold into automobile, consumer and construction markets, the head of the new business and reporting division said on Friday.

Automotive market growth for the styrenics company’s products could be as high as 25%, said Martin Pugh, senior vice president and business president for the Performance Materials, division.

ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) products are being more widely used by premium automobile makers to help save weight and match new design criteria for auto interiors.

“We have tremendous expertise in materials science, and design expertise that helps us with OEMs [own equipment manufacturers],” he added.

Polycarbonate/ABS materials for automobile interiors and polypropylene (PP)/long glass fibre materials for structural, non-chassis, parts (such as tailgates) offer further weight saving potential.

Pugh still oversees the Trinseo polycarbonate (PC) business that has been through a tough patch in an oversupplied market but is, he said, in a stronger position now that capacity has been taken out. “We sees some [PC] industry recovery coming.” he added.

The company has moved away from the commodity end of the business and pushed into close to the consumer market applications such as LEDs (light emitting diodes) where it supplies a range of products.

Trinseo’s IPO (initial public offering) was in June and now about 21% of the company is in public hands. The IPO was made as Trinseo but the company still had some legacy affiliates carrying the Styron name (adopted after the spin off from Dow Chemical).

A big task over the past year has been to make the full move to Trinseo and adopt new structures internally. The date of the (completed) name change was 1 February 2015.

Trinseo sees demand growth of between 8% and 10% for solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) which is used to make premium tyres, Pugh said.

The company has built on the success of its third SSBR train in Schkopau, which was brought on-line in 2012. Prior to this agreement, JSR held the capacity rights to 50% of one of Styron’s three SSBR production trains in Schkopau.

Pugh identified SSBR and NeBR as some of the products of focus for the company. “We see value potential in a number of these areas,” he said, based on its “extremely strong” technology.

Trinseo also has styrene butadiene latex and other latexes in this division and Pugh sees market opportunities in paper and paperboard coatings and in construction among others.

Generally, Pugh sees the lower oil price as being beneficial to the Trinseo businesses, including its more commoditised basic plastics and feedstocks division.

One of the problems has been a drop off in demand towards the 2014 year end as buyers retreated in the face of declining prices. The Trinseo performance Materials division businesses, however, are closely oriented to relatively strong end-use markets and to some relatively higher value and technically driven developments.

Trinseo will adopt the new business division structure from when it reports its first quarter results in the second half of 2015.

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