Austria-based chemical group Borealis AG has announced a 40 million euro ($45.5 million) investment to upgrade its steam cracker in Porvoo, Finland.
Borealis says that the upgrade will enhance the cracker's energy efficiency while giving higher production capacities for propylene and crude C4 and an overall higher production quality of propylene.
The upgrade, which is due to complete in the third quarter of 2017, will see the capacity for propylene and crude C4 increase by 30 kilotonnes per year and 10 kilotonnes per year, respectively.
Markku Korvenranta, Borealis executive vice president base chemicals said: “Investing in upgrades and capacity expansion at strategic Borealis production locations such as Porvoo enables us to improve the competitiveness of our strong, integrated polyolefins business in Europe. Through continuous investments, Borealis is securing its position among the most innovative and reliable polyethylene and polypropylene suppliers in Europe.”
Borealis currently has around 6,500 employees and states it operates in over 120 countries. In 2015 Borealis saw annual sales of 7.7 billion euros ($8.7 billion).