Targeting N. American Market
GS Caltex, South Korea’s second-largest oil refiner, has become the nation’s first plastic compounding company to establish a branch office in Mexico, tapping into the plastic compounding market in North America.
The company announced that it has established “GS Caltex Mexico S.R.L.” to produce and sell plastic compounds in Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo León of Mexico, on February 2.
As the first Korean company to push into the Mexican plastic compounding market, GS Caltex plans to build a production plant in an industrial complex near Monterrey this year. The plant is set to begin operations in 2017.
Plastic compounding refers to diverse chemical formulations made by blending polymers such as polypropylene and polyaramid with additives and fillers. They are used in building vehicles as well as diverse home appliances including washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators. Due to the recent trend of lightweight vehicles, the demand of these plastics is gradually expanding.
GS Caltex produces plastic compounds tailored for diverse purposes, such as rigidity, shock resistance, heat resistance and flexibility. It is the only refiner in Korea to manufacture plastic compounds.
GS Caltex currently operates three compounding plants in Korea, two in China and one in the Czech Republic, which together boast a net production capacity of 240,000 tons. The upcoming Mexican plant will begin operations in 2017 with an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons, which will be expanded to 50,000 tons by 2020. The scheduled expansion of its existing plants and the Mexican plant will drive up the firm’s production up to 360,000 tons by 2020.