Aggressive Investment

An aerial view of Lotte Chemical’s plant in Yeosu,
An aerial view of Lotte Chemical’s plant in Yeosu,

 

Lotte Chemical has decided to invest 370 billion won (US$325.7 million) in expanding its MeX production facility in Ulsan and PC production facility in Yeosu at the board meeting on May 10.

Meta xylene (MeX) is typically used as feedstock for purified isophthalic acid (PIA), which is a lucrative substance that stiffens PET in the production of bottles. Lotte Chemical is the No. 1 PIA producer in the world.

An official from Lotte Chemical said, “The company currently maintains the operation rate of some 70 percent due to a supply shortage of MeX. We have decided to make the investment to stably supply materials and strengthen the competitiveness in the PIA market. We will be able to make our position as the world’s largest producer by expanding PIA output by more than 30 percent.”

Lotte Chemical’s MeX output will rise to 360,000 tons from the current 160,000 tons by the second half of 2019 when the expansion work is done.

The company also plans to expand the output of polycarbonate (PC), a heat-resisting and impact-resisting engineering plastic, at its Yeosu plant.

PC is widely used as key materials to reduce the weight of cars and make consumer durables. Under the expansion plan, Lotte Chemical will also raise its polycarbonate production at its Yeosu plant by 100,000 tons to 210,000 tons by the second half of next year.

In particular, Lotte Chemical is expected to jump up to be the world’s third largest PC producer with a production capacity of 450,000 tons when combining 240,000 tons of the PC production at its subsidiary Lotte Advanced Materials.

Meanwhile, Lotte Chemical will complete the Yeosu plant of Lotte Versalis Elastomers, a joint venture with Italian chemical company Versalis to produce high value-added synthetic rubber, by the first half of this year. The company will also make a large investment in expanding the naphtha cracking center (NCC) of Lotte Chemical Titan in Malaysia in the second half of the year.

 

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