MOL and JSR Corp to manufacture synthetic rubber in Hungary

ERJ staff report (TP)

Budapest − Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Nyrt said last week that it has reached an agreement with Japanese firm JSR Corporation to establish a joint venture in Hungary and construct a new plant to manufacture solution polymerisation styrene-butadiene rubber, or S-SBR, reported Margit Feher for The Wall Street Journal.

JSR will hold 51 percent while MOL will retain the remaining 49 percent of the joint venture.

The new plant capacity will be 60,000 tonnes per year, with the sales launch scheduled for 2017. A capacity expansion is also under investigation and will be implemented in accordance with the demand increase of S-SBR.

MOL, through its subsidiary TVK, targets to build a 130,000-tonne per annum capacity butadiene extraction unit at the same location, in Tiszaujvaros, by 2015.

The partnership with JSR provides MOL the opportunity to further diversify its petrochemical product line along the value chain by entering the S-SBR market as MOL can steadily provide the joint venture with raw materials.

Located in Hungary, the joint venture could access Western Europe, a focal point for major tire manufacturers, as well as Central-Eastern Europe, Russia, and Turkey, where the expansion of tire production is expected. Furthermore, some major tire manufacturers have already commenced their operations in Hungary.

Demand for S-SBR for fuel-efficient tires is expected to expand. S-SBR is highly valued worldwide as a raw material of a fuel-efficient tire known as an eco-friendly tire due to its excellent industry-leading properties suited to fuel-efficient tires and wet grip performance.

The establishment of the joint venture is subject to obtaining the necessary clearance from the relevant competition authorities.

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Full story from The Wall Street Journal