TRINSEO Announces Complete Closure of Polycarbonate Production in Stade, Germany
- 23-Dec-2022 11:35 AM
- Journalist: Timothy Greene
Hamburg (Germany): Trinseo made the announcement that it would be permanently closing a Polycarbonate production line in Stade, Germany. The organization will keep producing Polycarbonate with the excess resources in its downstream compounding business. It will lower the cost of Polycarbonate and also reduces the exposure to the cyclical merchant Polycarbonate market in the German region.
Trinseo claimed that the size and capacity of the styrene production plant (Boehlen, Germany) needed to be increased for global competition. Europe's rising natural gas costs were also a factor.
It also stated that it would reduce Styrene-Butadiene (SB) latex capacity at its site in Hamina, Finland, and consolidate Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) sheet manufacturing in Matamoros, Mexico, at the Aristech Surfaces production line in Florence, Kentucky.
As a result of the shutdowns, consolidation, and capacity reductions all taken together, Trinseo claims that the company's profits will rise by USD 60 million annually. The majority of those cost savings will be achieved in 2023.
In addition, Trinseo was fined 32.6 million Euros related to the commission's 2018 investigation of styrene purchasing practices in Europe. According to Trinseo, the fine was paid in December 2022. Trinseo and four other businesses were hit with penalties totaling 157 million Euros from the European Commission. Between May 2012 and June 2018, the buyers participated in cartel activities.
The Polycarbonate price has decreased over the past few weeks, decreasing by 11% in December 2022, according to data from ChemAnalyst.
The Polycarbonate cost is anticipated to drop owing to the weak demand from downstream industries like the automotive and construction sectors. In addition, the number of COVID cases is expected to rise, and Polycarbonate global buyers' orders may decrease in the coming months. Due to the closing of one Polycarbonate production line in the German region, Trinseo's overall earnings are expected to improve in 2023.
