Ineos Styrolution has completed the previously-announced acquisition of two polystyrene production sites in China from French energy giant Total SA.
The acquisition includes the purchase of Total's wholly owned Chinese PS business, which comprises two production sites in Ningbo and Foshan and two related offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai.
Driven by the company's “triple shift” strategy, the transaction signals Ineos Styrolution's first production move into China and will increase the company's PS capacity by 400 kilotonnes per annum.
Both sites, in Foshan, Guangdong province in South China and Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province south of Shanghai, have an annual nameplate capacity of 200ktpa.
Ineos Styrolution's triple shift strategy is aimed at arriving at “a resilient, less cyclical, more diversified and more profitable business by 2020.”
The blueprint targets three areas of “higher-growth customer industries, higher value offerings and high-growth regions” for future development.
“We continue to execute on our growth strategy,” said Kevin McQuade, CEO Ineos Styrolution.
The deal marks Styrolution's second acquisition in Asia, following the integration of the K-Resin business in 2017.
Ineos Styrolution acquired the K-Resin styrene-butadiene copolymers (SBC) business from Chevron Phillips Chemical and Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd in Yeosu Petrochemical Complex in South Korea in March 2017.
“Not only does this deal allow us to better serve our existing customers in the region, especially in the Household and Electronics industries; it also provides us access to the broader market in China,” said Steve Harrington, president Asia-Pacific.
