Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
January 31, 2000 01:00 AM

Borden stays course with PVC

Frank Esposito
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    Borden Chemicals and Plastics LP plans to stick with PVC. The Columbus, Ohio-based firm, which ranks as North America's fifth-largest PVC maker, recently completed a business review that determined the company should "evolve into a focused PVC resins business," according to a Jan. 25 statement from newly elected board Chairman William Carter.

    Rumors of Borden's eventual fate have swirled for the past year and a half, as the firm has struggled to compete with larger rivals. The company lost $23.8 million last year, after losing $40.6 million in 1998.

    Industry insiders and analysts have expected the company or parts of it to be sold. Last week's announcement endorses Borden's Geismar, La.-based PVC business, but throws the future of its methanol and nitrogen products business units into doubt.

    In the nine months ended Sept. 30, PVC accounted for about 73 percent of Borden's sales, with methanol adding 18 percent and nitrogen products the remaining 9 percent.

    Carter said Borden is "developing specific plans for our non-PVC businesses in order to realize maximum value in the near term."

    He also cited the methanol and nitrogen products businesses as primary reasons for the company's 1999 loss. Although Borden's PVC sales basically were flat in 1999, its methanol sales dropped about 17 percent and nitrogen sales dropped about 18 percent. Overall, Borden has posted losses in 10 consecutive quarters.

    Borden still was able to post an overall sales gain of 3.5 percent, mainly because of a strong fourth quarter in PVC. PVC prices rose 16 cents per pound in the United States in 1999 as domestic demand climbed 7 percent, an increase 4-5 percent higher than many producers and analysts expected.

    "Over the course of our history, our product mix has been a good one," Borden spokesman Pete Loscocco said in a Jan. 27 telephone interview from Columbus. "PVC might be up one year and down the next, but things tended to balance out.

    "In the last couple of years, we've struggled with the down cycle in the commodity chemicals sector. PVC recovered last year, but methanol and nitrogen products are still down."

    Options for those segments include joint ventures or outright sales, according to Loscocco.

    Borden's decision to focus on PVC may be a result of the company's inability to find a partner or buyer since announcing its intentions to do so in January 1999, according to Richard O'Reilly, a chemicals industry analyst with Standard & Poor's Equity Group in New York.

    PVC maker Georgia Gulf Corp.'s September purchase of rival Condea Vista Co.'s PVC business also may have affected Borden's decision, industry contacts said. Both firms had been mentioned as possible partners for Borden.

    "When Georgia Gulf bought Condea Vista, that made one less person for Borden to go to the dance with," he said. "Now they're going to go dance by themselves."

    Borden's lack of integration in the vinyls chain and lack of compounding capabilities may have impaired the company's ability to link with a rival or outside chemicals firm, according to industry insiders.

    "Borden is a pretty small company in an industry that's gotten bigger," O'Reilly said. "They're just playing the best hand they have."

    Borden also is continuing to work with Salomon Smith Barney Inc. of New York to explore options for the overall business. Loscocco said the work is being done independently of the review, which Borden did with Boston's Arthur D. Little Inc. consulting firm.

    Additionally, Borden aims to hire a new chief executive officer to replace Joseph Saggese, the firm's chairman, president and CEO who retired Jan. 25 after a 40-year career with BCP and Borden Inc.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Biden eyes cutting federal purchases of single-use plastics
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Polymer Points Live - July 2022
    2
    Following a record year for plastics M&As with wary eye on future
    3
    Plastics in Politics Live - July 2022
    4
    California passes strictest plastics law in US, with EPR and recycling targets
    5
    Big deals, frequent buys in first half of 2022
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified