Solvay makes millionaire fund allocation to produce green PVC
Valor Econômico - 02/19/2008
The Solvay group is also betting on alcohol. With a total investment of US$ 500 million, the Belgian company intends to produce ethene, the raw material for the production of PVC, by using ethanol instead of naphtha, which is a byproduct of petroleum. Last Friday, the Belgian multinational executed an exclusive contract with Copersucar, which will supply the group of industrial alcohol for ten years. With sales of R$ 871.4 million (US$ 495 million) in Brazil (9.5 billion Euros in the world), the group intends to increase the production of PVC in more than 50% in the country, which is widely used by the civil construction and infrastructure industries. According to Pablo Schirch, the CEO of Solvay do Brasil (the Brazilian branch of Solvay), the company decided for ethanol after researching the market. Besides being a sustainable product, the ethene market is limited in Brazil, and importer of PVC. The industrial complex of Solvay, installed in Santo André (Metropolitan Area of São Paulo), is receiving resources for the construction of an ethane-based-on-ethanol plant that will be integrated to the VCM (Vinyl Chloride Monomer) unit. This new platform integrates the second part of the enlargement of the group, started in 2006, which includes the improvement of the capacity of production of the VCM and chlorine-soda plants. The production of ethanol-based ethene will start in 2010. In order to finance its expansion, the group had the support of the BNDES, which approved credit of US$ 153 million. (Upon) At the completion of the whole project, the company will have an installed capacity of 360 thousand tons of PVC annually, from which 120 thousand based on ethanol, 360 thousand tons/year of VCM, 235 thousand tons/year of chlorine-soda, and 60 thousand tons a year of bioethylene. The group is also analyzing to increasing their capital by means of the issue of bonds and BDRs (Brazilian Depositary Receipts) in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa).