01/29/2008 08h06

CBE receives credit to expand factory

DCI - 01/29/2008

The Companhia Brasileira de Estireno (CBE - Brazilian Company of Estireno), headquartered in Cubatão (SP), has been granted approval from the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES) for its application of financing of R$ 95.2 million (US$ 54.1 million). The amount, which corresponds to 59% of the total investment of R$ 161.6 million (US$ 91.8 million) that the company intends to make, will be focused on the expansion of the productive capacity of the ethylbenzene factory, which will go from 122 thousand tons (t) a year to 195 thousand. The investment will also be focused on the styrene monomer plant, which will expand its production from 120 thousand tons a year to 180 thousand tons a year. With the implementation of this project, the CBE will increase the national styrene production, reducing importations. The Brazilian styrene production is inferior to the demand, and the market perspectives are of a consumption growth superior to 4.5% a year in the next ten years. The styrene monomer, or styrene, is a liquid colorless product of the aromatic hydrocarbon family. It has many applications and can be used in the production of plastic goods, toys, tires, impermeable coating, and thermal insulators, among others. The CBE is part of the Unigel group, a conglomerate of national control that works the areas of chemistry, plastics, and packing, with strong presence in the Camaçari Petrochemical Pole, in Bahia. According to the BNDES, the company will also invest R$ 1.1 million (US$ 625 thousand) in social and environmental projects, with the implementation of monitoring systems of gaseous emissions into atmosphere and effluent monitoring.