Huntsman profits up, specialty resins expansion planned
Canadian Plastics
Materials Huntsman CorporationChemical provider Huntsman Corporation has had a busy year so far.
The Woodlands, Tex.-based company announced that it had a profitable 2014 and that it’s making supply adjustments in Europe and expanding in Asia.
The company reported net income of US$323 million for 2014, a big increase compared to US4128 million in 2013. “Our differentiated businesses that include our MDI urethanes, performance products, advanced materials and textile effects collectively increased their adjusted EBITDA by more than US$200 million,” said president and CEO Peter Huntsman. “I am encouraged by the attractive growth profile of these businesses and expect them to perform even better in 2015.”
Huntsman has also announced plans to reduce its TiO2 capacity approximately 100kt, which represents 13 per cent of the company’s European TiO2 capacity. The plan will generate approximately US$35 million of annual savings, the company said, and involves closing specific operations at its Calais, France site in 2015 – in particular the “black end” manufacturing operations and ancillary activities, which are responsible for the start of the titanium dioxide manufacturing process.
Finally, Huntsman will also begin construction on a 25,000-ton capacity expansion program at its world-scale polyetheramine facility in Jurong, Singapore in the first half of 2015, taking total capacity to 50,000 tons. The US$100 million investment is intended to help the company meet what it calls growing global demand for polyetheramines. Construction of the new facilities is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016. “Combined with our other existing polyetheramine manufacturing facilities in Conroe, Texas, and Llanelli, Wales, the expansion at our Jurong site will help us respond more quickly to customer demand, not only in the rapidly growing Asia market, but also around the globe,” said Stu Monteith, president of Huntsman’s performance products division. Polyetheramines are used as ingredients to improve the properties of many products, including those made from specialty plastics.