Toray BASF PBT production commences in Malaysia

24-Apr-06

Toray BASF PBT Resin Sdn. Bhd., a 50-50 joint venture between BASF Aktiengesellschaft (Germany) and Toray Industries Inc. (Japan) has had an on-schedule commercial production. The JV for the newly built world-scale polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) plant is sited at BASF's Verbund site in Kuantan, Malaysia. The PBT base resin will be independently marketed by each company under its own trade name (BASF: Ultradur®, Toray: Toraycon®). The 60,000 metric tpa PBT plant has been built at a capital expenditure of approx $40 million. The new plant will be operated using the most advanced polymerization technology from Toray. Feedstock for the plant- butanediol (BDO), is to be procured based on state-of-the-art technology from its subsidiary BASF PETRONAS Chemicals, located adjacent to the plant. The location of the PBT plant in the growing chemical cluster in Kuantan provides important forward integration into value-added products for BASF and emphasizes its ongoing commitment to the Asian market, to react more quickly to customers' needs and can ensure a reliable supply of the product. BASF will supply base resins to its existing compounding plants in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and Ansan, Korea, and to the new compounding plant currently under construction in Pudong, China from Kuantan.