MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC has confirmed that the establishment of its Specialties strategic business unit (SBU), as a separate, stand-alone business, which will remain owned by SABIC, is on track, as per the company's press release.
While SABIC continues to monitor the business impacts of COVID-19, at this time, it anticipates that the timing of the “go-live” for the stand-alone operations of the group of companies embedding its Specialties strategic business unit (SBU) will be November 1, 2020.
The establishment of the stand-alone model for the Specialties SBU will bring additional value to its customers who depend on the Specialties business for its innovation expertise and highly differentiated ULTEM and NORYL resins, LNP compounds and copolymers.
The process of establishing the corporate, financial, commercial and business structure of the stand-alone organization has progressed successfully. The Specialties business has been working closely with its customers, distributors and suppliers with the strong commitment to ensure business continuity for all parties during the transition.
Ernesto Occhiello, Executive Vice President Specialties, said: “We are pleased the establishment of the Specialties business unit, as a stand-alone corporate group of companies within SABIC, is progressing as planned. The task we have as a business is to continue to strengthen our market position and bring added value to our customers. We will continue to work closely with them to address their most – and often one-of-a-kind – challenges by offering a unique portfolio of high-end products, technologies and solutions.“
Moreover, in advance of the go-live, the Specialties business has undertaken a global reorganization to align required staffing with the strategic focus of the transformed business. This endeavour has been effective in bringing no impact to customers, while successfully retaining company’s talent within SABIC and limiting the instances of redundancies.
SABIC’s Specialties business has deployed new fulfilment strategies to ensure the best support of its broad customer base. The business is focusing its resources and efforts on specification and is working closely with its customers and distribution partners. The anticipated capacity expansions for the NORYL and ULTEM products are progressing while the company is adhering to strict safety precautions for its employees in light of the global pandemic. The expansions are expected to be operational in 2021 in the Netherlands and 2022 in Singapore, benefiting a growing customer demand with strategically positioned supply and shorter lead times.
The decision to establish the Specialties business as a stand-alone group of companies precedes the acquisition of a 70% stake in SABIC from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) by Saudi Aramco and it is unrelated to it. SABIC remains a listed company on the Saudi Stock Exchange, with its board of directors representing the interests of all shareholders and continuing to exercise its own robust governance practices.
As MRC reported earlier, SABIC Europe, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), has shut its No. 6 cracker in Wilton (UK) for a scheduled maintenance. The flaring was registerend on 29 September. The turnaround at this cracker which has an annual ethylene capacity of 865,000 tonnes and propylene capacity of 415,000 tonnes will be conducted during approximately 75 days.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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