Borealis, DuPont launch JV in Belgium; will produce high-pressure copolymers
Borealis, a leading polyolefin plastics producer, and DuPont have launched a manufacturing joint venture — Speciality Polymers Antwerp N.V. — in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, to manufacture high-pressure copolymers. Terms were not disclosed.
The new company manufactures ethylene copolymers and polyethylene at an existing 125,000 ton/year plant formerly owned and operated by Borealis. In the new joint venture, Borealis retains a 50% stake in the Zwijndrecht facility, while DuPont, a global leader in specialty ethylene copolymers, acquires the other 50%.
DuPont also acquires Borealis' current "Borflex" ethylene acrylate copolymer business and related technology. Borealis retains technology rights for its wire and cable compounds business.
"The joint venture and the Borflex business deliver quick growth and diversification of our ethylene copolymers in the European region," says Jerome Smith, president of DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers (P&IP).
The investment demonstrates DuPont's intent to further develop the European ethylene copolymers market and to increase the company's regional production capacity, according to David McFall, P&IP's business director for Europe.
DuPont's investment will include further development of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and ethylene acrylate copolymer technology at the joint venture site to complement other strategic ethylene copolymer expansions and technology investments in North America and other regions.
From Borealis' standpoint, partnering with DuPont will help quicken realization of Borflex product potential in the marketplace, according to Staffan Lennstrom, executive vice president, Borealis Performance Products Division.
The existing Zwijndrecht manufacturing workforce now operates the facility as employees of Speciality Polymers Antwerp. The site's customers will be served by existing Borealis and DuPont marketing organizations.
Borealis is the world's fourth-largest producer of polyolefin plastics — polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) — at a rate of over 3 million tons a year.
Edited by Bill Noone
Managing Editor, PackagingNetwork.com
bnoone@packagingnetwork.com