Borealis inaugurates new catalyst plant in Linz, Austria

Polyolefins maker Borealis has opened a new Sirius catalyst plant at its existing production facility in Linz, Austria.

As detailed at a press conference held on June 3, as a run-up to the K 2013 trade show to be staged in Germany this fall, the Vienna-based company invested €100 million (Cdn$135 million) in the construction of this facility, which will produce catalysts utilizing the proprietary Borealis Sirius catalyst technology.

Catalysts enable a precise alignment of plastics properties with varying demands and requirements and help determine, among other things, the hardness, plasticity and/or elasticity of end products.

According to Dr. Brian Kneale, Borealis’s director of technology commercialization, the start-up of the plant will create 35 new jobs at the Linz site, bringing the total Linz workforce to 1,250.

Basic engineering for the plant began in December 2009, Kneale said, and the first construction pilings were completed in February 2011.

“Manufacturing our Siruis catalyst technology in-house allows for consistent control of quality, control of supply to all Borealis assets, control of intellectual capital, and gives us the ability to rapidly develop and implement derivative catalyst technologies,” Kneale added.