PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – March 25, 2019 — Braskem — the largest thermoplastics polyolefins producer in the Americas, and the leading producer of biopolymers in the world — today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership for Braskem’s growing U.S. polypropylene (PP) business with PolyQuest Inc., a North America-based polymer resin distributor and recycler. As a distributor of polypropylene, and the largest distributor of PET in the U.S., PolyQuest has long-standing relationships with customers in the sheet, film, textiles, strapping and BCF markets.
Mark Nikolich, Braskem America CEO, commented, “We’re pleased to be partnering with PolyQuest to expand our reach and presence with new clients and sectors, accelerating our market share growth, as well as supporting our position as the largest producer of polypropylene in the Americas. Just as importantly, PolyQuest shares a focus on advancing the future of the circular economy through a commitment to sustainable development. We look forward to leveraging our expertise in polypropylene recycling and closed-loop technologies with PolyQuest’s established U.S. recycling facilities. Our leverage across these activities will only grow in importance as Braskem remains on track to launch Delta, our new U.S. 450 kiloton polypropylene production line in early 2020.”
Tod Durst, PolyQuest executive vice president, commented: “There is no better partner for PolyQuest in the polypropylene market than Braskem and we look forward to expanding our relationship responsibly and rapidly. The expansion of our resin offerings in the U.S. to include polypropylene was a logical one for us as it further enhances our position as a value-added supplier to an important and growing segment of the industry. We’re delighted that the partnership occurred organically through one of our joint strategic packaging clients.”
With an increased focus from both producers, converters and brand-owners towards a sustainable and recyclable raw material, PolyQuest aims to provide a solution for post-consumer polypropylene products in the marketplace through its recycling facilities in New York and South Carolina. PolyQuest’s goal is to introduce several post consumer polypropylene recycled capabilities to customers in 2019.
Braskem has committed up to $675 million towards the design and construction of its new PP production line named Delta which is being constructed next to Braskem’s existing production facilities in La Porte, Texas. With main construction ongoing, Delta is targeted for initial production in early 2020. The new plant will have a production capacity of 450 kilotons (kt), or the equivalent of approximately 1 billion pounds, per year.
The new Delta line will represent additional production capacity of homopolymers, random copolymers, impact copolymers, and reactor TPOs, building upon Braskem’s current polypropylene production plant in La Porte which has a production capacity of 354 kt annually and will continue operations. Braskem also maintains a UTEC ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) production plant located at the same La Porte site.
The construction of Braskem’s new Delta production line is positively impacting economic activity in the La Porte region, employing approximately 1,000 development and construction workers to fully construct the facility. The Delta production line design is being developed directly in-line with Braskem’s commitment to sustainability and attention to eco-indicators such as emissions, water, and energy efficiency, as well as recycling and waste reduction.
Posted April 3, 2019
Source: Braskem North America
