Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 7

news

business

Alpek to acquire Lotte
Chemical's uK operations
San Pedro Garza Garcia,
Mexico - Petrochemicals giant Alpek is to buy the UK division of South Korean firm
Lotte Chemical. The purchase
of Lotte Chemical UK is the
first deal for Alpek outside the
Americas.
The deal includes the 350
kilotonne-per-annum
(ktpa)
PET production facility in Wilton, near Middlesbrough. The
plant was commissioned in
2014.
The addition of Lotte Chemical UK to the Mexican company's production network would
increase total annual PET capacity to 2.8m tonnes.
"This acquisition is well
aligned with Alpek's growth
strategy, creating substantial
value by integrating the asset into our global polyester
footprint," said José de Jesús
Valdez, CEO at Alpek. "Moving
forward, our team is focused
on executing a seamless integration to capitalise on existing momentum and capture
synergies."
Commenting on the acquisition, Gordon Haire, research
director at London consulting
firm Wood Mackenzie, said the
change of ownership would
mark Lotte Chemical's exit from
PET manufacturing in Europe.
"It establishes a strong platform for Alpek to become a regional PET supplier in the European market," he said.
The deal is also significant
as it could have implications for
regional PTA trade flows.
Haire explained that Lotte
Chemical had been exporting
about 110 ktpa of PTA from
South Korea to the UK for the
last few years. Alpek is also a
long-established supplier into
the European PTA market.
"Lotte Chemical has concluded that the UK PET business does not fit the Lotte
Vision 2030. Instead, Lotte is
likely to add more weight to the
newly-expanded PIA business
and reduce exposure to PTA,"
Haire concluded.
Alpek is a leading petrochemical company operating
two business segments, including polyesters (PTA, PET and

polyester fibres), and plastics
and chemicals (polypropylene,
expandable polystyrene, etc.).
The company is an integrated producer of PTA and
PET in North America, with annual sales of $6.9bn. It operates 27 plants in the US, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Argentina
and Chile, and employs more

Lotte Chemical UK in Wilton
than 5,700 people.
The acquisition is expected
to be completed in Q4 2019,

subject to approvals. Terms of
the agreement were not disclosed.

Leading Pan European
Polymer Distribution
POLYOLEFINS

LDPE * hLLDPE * mLLDPE * MDPE * HDPE * Bimodal HDPE
UHMWPE * POLYPROPYLENE * PP COMPOUNDS * EVA

POLYESTERS

PET * PETG * PCTG

ELASTOMERS

Santoprene™ TPV * Lucene™ POE/POP
Vistamaxx™ PBE * Exxelor™ MAH

STYRENICS

GPPS * ASA * SAN * SBC
ABS - General Purpose

ENGINEERING

ABS - High Heat, FR, Platable, Transparent
PC * PC-Alloys * PBT * POM * PMMA * PPO
Nylon PA6 * PA6.6
Ryton® PPS * Radel® PPSU * Udel® PSU
Veradel® PESU * Vespel® * Selar® PA

SILICONE & RUBBERS

Vistalon™ EPDM * Tecnoflon® FKM
HCR * LSR * RTV * Fluorosilicone
Custom Silicone Compounds
Silicone Masterbatches

RECYCLED & BIO POLYMERS
rPP * rABS * rHIPS
INZEA® Biopolymers * Ecozen® PETG

Biesterfeld Petroplas Ltd
6F Park Square, Milton Park
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
OX14 4RR
BPFLYER - PRW Novt19.indd 1

T: 01235 822 040 * F: 01235 833 155
T:
01235 822 040 * F: 01235 833 155
E: sales@biesterfeld-petroplas.com
E: sales@biesterfeld-petroplas.com
W: www.biesterfeld.com

W: www.biesterfeld.com
31/10/2019 15:53:02

november/december 2019 | WWW.PRW.COM

http://www.biesterfeld-petroplas.com http://WWW.PRW.COM

Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019