SHINTECH INVESTS IN LOUISIANA

Abstract

SHINTECH, the U.S. polyvinyl chloride arm of Japan’s Shin-Etsu, will spend $1.1 billion to build plants for the PVC raw materials vinyl chloride and chlorine at a site in Plaquemine, La. The company says it has already begun construction of a complex that will have annual capacity of about 800,000 metric tons of vinyl chloride, 485,000 metric tons of chlorine, and 530,000 metric tons of chlorine coproduct caustic soda. The company expects to complete the project by the end of 2011. In recent years, companies have shied away from making capital investments in basic chemicals in the U.S., but Shintech has been an exception. Later this year, the company expects to complete another $1 billion round of investments in Plaquemine that will add chlor-alkali and vinyl chloride facilities and a 600,000-metric-ton-per-year PVC plant. With the two projects, Shintech will have more than enough vinyl chloride capacity to supply its PVC plants in Louisiana. ...