Plastics News Show Daily - April 4, 2012 - (Page 37)

PLASTICS NEWS, April 4, 2012 37 Styrolution CEO sees growth for PS in N. American market By Frank Esposito PLASTICS NEWS STAFF ORLANDO, FLA. — Global polystyrene giant Styrolution Group GmbH (Booth 13005) is excited about prospects for the material in North America. “North America is going to be a success story for polystyrene, after several years of being quite depressed,” CEO Roberto Gualdoni said in an interview at NPE2012. “Consumer demand is up, and polypropylene is more expensive. Both of those work in our favor.” It’s still in the early going for Styrolution — formed in October as a joint venture of the styrenics units of BASF SE and Ineos Group — but Gualdoni said his Frankfurt, Germany-based firm is seeing low-single-digit growth in North America and expects that to continue. “We’ve got good momentum and a tailwind here,” Gualdoni said. tion with recycled content for the new materials. Gualdoni is managing Styrolution’s ups and downs. Recent styrenics expansion moves in South Korea and India, as well as a technology investment in Germany, have been offset by a production shift that will result in the closing of a German PS and styrene monomer plant. It’s all part of the challenges of a company with $8.3 billion in annual sales that employs 3,400 at 17 sites worldwide. “I think it’s working well,” Gualdoni said of Styrolution’s first six months. “And I think one of the facts that’s bringing things together so smoothly is that our business has been very challenged for several years, so our people have gone through the ups and downs.They know what to do in almost every situation,” Gualdoni said. “They know how to handle volatility, and they know that we need to invest in our assets.” ‘North America is going to be a success story for polystyrene, after several years of being quite depressed. Consumer demand is up, and polypropylene is more expensive. Both of those work in our favor.’ Roberto Gualdoni Styrolution Elsewhere around the world, Gualdoni said European PS “is staying where it is,” partly because it lacks a price advantage vs. PP in that market. By comparison, in Asia, “everything is booming,” as increased standards of living spur high growth in China and India, which are growing faster than “older economies” such as Japan and Korea, he said. At NPE in Orlando, Styrolution’s new products include a new high-impact PS grade with higher gloss for the food-service market. The material can be blended with crystal PS or used as a stand-alone resin, account manager Bevan Basham said. It’s being aimed at food-service cups and graphic arts printing applications. Styrolution also has commercialized a new, higher-heat-resistant grade of Terluran-brand ABS for auto interior and exterior applications. The grade already has received approvals at General Motors Co. Also at NPE, Styrolution is spotlighting three PS grades with 25 percent post-consumer recycled content. NextLife of Boca Raton, Fla., is supplying Styrolu- A broad perspective is essential: every day, some 3.5 billion high-quality plastic parts are produced on ALLROUNDER machines – so the utmost production April 1 -5, 201 2 3729 Booth # L F rlando, O ARBURG, Inc. 125 Rockwell Road Newington, CT 06111 Tel.: +1 (860) 667 6500 Fax: +1 (860) 667 6522 e-mail: usa@arburg.com www.arburg.us http://www.fipa.com http://www.arburg.us

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Plastics News Show Daily - April 4, 2012

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