Dow Europe to close Co-PBR plant in France

ERJ staff report (SS)

Horgen, Switzerland -- Dow Europe GmbH is planning to close its cobalt-catalysed polybutadiene rubber (Co-PBR) assets located in Berre L'Etang, France.

The plant, which according to IISRP (International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers) has a capacity of 45 kilotonnes per annum, is operated by Shell Petrochimie Mediterranee SAS.

“We made this decision after taking a long-term, strategic view of the synthetic rubber business,” said Craig Arnold, global business director for Dow Europe Synthetic Europe, in a 29 Feb statement.

We decided to re-direct our technical resources and investments to businesses where Dow can achieve an advantaged cost position and increase our share of differentiated products,” he added.

Co-PBR is used in tyre tread and sidewall compounds, conveyor belts, footwear, golf balls and for a variety of mechanical goods.

Dow Europe manufactures lithium-catalysed BR, which is used predominantly to manufacture high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) or ABS, and nickel-catalysed BR, which is used in the manufacture of tyres and footwear. it does not make neodymium-catalysed BR which is used in low-rolling resistance tyres.

 Berre-Press-Release-29Feb2008.pdf