Phased resumption of operations at petrochemical plants in Czech Republic

18-Jun-13

Petrochemical and chemical plants, that were forced to shut down last week under the impact of devastating floods spreading across central Europe, are struggling to re-launch production as the flood waters recede. As per PRW, some, like the polystyrene and synthetic rubber units of the Polish Synthos group at Kralupy and Vltavou, which shut down on 3 June as the River Vltava burst its banks, began a phased restart this week. As per a brief stock market announcement by the company, the Kralupy facility had suffered “no significant material damage” as a result of the floods. But, smooth restart will be hindered by difficulty in procuring raw materials and shipping products in the short term due to widespread infrastructure disruption caused by flood damage to roads and railways in Germany, Austria as well as across the Czech Republic. Operations will not resume immediately at Neratovice plant of Polish owned PVC producer Spolana that was affected by the rising waters of the River Elbe. The company plans not resume production until the site had received a thorough inspection. It has decided to suspend raw material procurement and product collection at least until 20 June.