LyondellBasell to shutter German HDPE plant

Material supplier LyondellBasell is shutting down a high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit in Wesseling, Germany in the third quarter of 2013.

The 100 KT per year unit is said to be among the smallest and least efficient of the LyondellBasell HDPE units in Europe, the company said in a statement, and it has sufficient HDPE capacity to meet customer needs from its larger scale facilities.

“LyondellBasell continues to take definitive steps to reorganize our operations in Europe to increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve the competitiveness of our businesses,” said Bob Patel, senior vice president, olefins & polyolefins, Europe, Asia and International. “The closure of under-competitive assets, along with the restructuring and efficiency-improvement initiatives in our business areas, manufacturing and R&D, will better position LyondellBasell to compete in today’s economic environment.”

LyondellBasell is said to be the largest producer of both polyethylene and polypropylene in Europe. The company has shuttered about 2.5 billion pounds of capacity in Europe in recent years and reduced staff levels in business areas by 30 per cent