Borealis launches business unit dedicated to future development of its automotive business

16-Jan-09

Borealis, a leading provider of innovative, value creating plastics solutions, is launching a new business unit dedicated to future development of its automotive business. The Business Unit Mobility, which came into being on January 1, will be led by Harald Hammer, previously Chief Executive Officer of Borouge Marketing Company, a Borealis joint venture based in Singapore. "We intend to explore long-term opportunities in new markets and advance our innovative, value creating solutions for applications in new dynamic and rapidly growing sectors," says Harald Hammer, Borealis Vice President Business Unit Mobility. "This will allow us to take a broader view of the market beyond our current and future strategic core automotive business, thereby exploring new and innovative opportunities for growth." The new business unit will also incorporate Borealis's battery application business. "New generations of these applications are increasingly being developed within our existing automotive supply chain", explains Harald Hammer, "so it makes sense for our people working on these important developments to cooperate closely with colleagues working on related automotive applications." Borealis is already building up its manufacturing capability to serve the automotive industry. Borouge, which serves the Middle East and Asia, is currently building a Compound Manufacturing Unit (CMU) in Shanghai, capable of producing 50,000 tonnes of polyolefin compounds each year for use in automotive as well as domestic appliance, power tool and electrical applications. The unit will complement existing compounding plants in Brazil and Europe, and reinforces Borealis' capability to serve its customers around the world. "The automotive industry is one of the key strategic markets for Borealis and we are convinced that we can leverage our know-how to other related business segments", comments Lorenzo Delorenzi, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins.