Unigel invests US$ 43.8 million in ABS resin
Valor Econômico
To strengthen its positioning in the sector of engineering plastics, Unigel announces today investments of R$ 70 million (US$ 43.8 million) in a unit that will produce the so-called ABS resin, in Guarujá (SP). The resources will generate a capacity of 90 tons a year and, with the initiative, the company intends to replace the imports of the material by the Brazilian industry. With greater added value, the ABS (Acrylonitrile - Butadiene - Styrene) resin is used for the manufacture of technical parts used in the interior of vehicles, as well as external parts - that require greater strength - of home appliances. Today, the National manufacturers are supplied with the imported resin, mainly from Asia.
"The strategy is to consolidate our position, producing the entire family of Styrene products. For the manufacture of ABS, we have internal synergies, especially regarding the supply of raw materials", said the Business Director of Styrene products of Unigel, Marcelo Calil Bianchi. The Executive estimates the investment will allow Unigel the additional annual earnings of R$ 330 million (US$ 206.3 million), as of the third year after the completion of the unit, scheduled to begin the operations in mid-2012. In 2010, the company earned nearly R$ 2.5 billion (US$ 1.42 billion).
For the manufacture of the new product, the raw materials used are the styrene monomer, acrylonitrile, polybutadiene and additives. The first two raw materials correspond to nearly 80% of the ABS resin and it makes up the main businesses of Unigel. With two plants - one in Cubatão (SP) and another in Camaçari (Bahia) - the company has an installed capacity of 280 thousand tons of styrene monomer a year. The capacity of the company in Acrylonitrile, on its turn, amounts to 90 thousand tons in the country, with a unit in the complex they have in the State of Bahia.
Another synergy promoted by the new plant, according to Bianchi, involves the clients of the company. The car and home appliance industries - clients that are the focus of the ABS resin - are already catered by Unigel. With its production of polystyrene, for example, the chemical manufacturer provides materials for the manufacture of internal components of refrigerators, among other applications. The company has installed capacity to produce 310 thousand tons of polystyrene in São José dos Campos and in Guarujá, both in the State of São Paulo.
In the past, the very Unigel had already produced ABS in Camaçari, but the businesses were sold and then shutdown. "For those who are not integrated, the margins are narrower. Since we have the inputs, we are competitive now", says the Executive. According to Bianchi, the sources of the funds to be used in the unit is yet to be defined. "But our last investments were made with our own resources", said the Executive.