5 Feb 2004
By Patrick Raleigh ERJ On-line news editor
Amsterdam-Dow Chemical Co. plans to idle its emulsion SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber) plant in Pernis, The Netherlands, this March, according to a company spokesman. The plant will remain idled at least until the end of the year, he added in a 4 Feb telephone interview.
The Pernis unit had been scheduled to undergo maintenance shutdown, according to the spokesman. However, Dow has decided not to commit this “multi-million-Euro project†at this stage, in view of current trading conditions, he said.
The US group, however, has yet to make a final decison on the future of the 85 kilotonne per-annum facility, the spokesman emphasised.
Dow acquired the Pernis facility with its purchase of Shell Chemical Co.'s general-purpose rubber business in 1999. The facility, which had a capacity of 85 kilotonne per annum at the time of the sale is currently operated by Shell.
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