Trinseo permanently shutting Rho MMA, mulling closure of Schkopau PS

Trinseo PLC (Wayne, Pennsylvania) plans to permanently shut down methyl methacrylate (MMA) production in Rho, Italy and upstream acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) production in Porto Marghera, Italy by the end of the year, as per company.

It is also evaluating whether to shut down polystyrene (PS) production at Schkopau, Germany, the company said Oct. 6. Trinseo estimates that together, the measures would improve its profitability by $30 million annually.

“These plans are a byproduct of the continuing challenges we and our peers in the European chemical industry have been facing for the past several years, including weak end-market demand, high energy prices and increased imports from Asia,” said Frank Bozich, Trinseo’s president and CEO.

Trinseo also said its board of directors has voted to suspend the quarterly dividend, freeing up another $1.5 million per year.

Trinseo’s stock was trading at $2.08 per share as of 1:47 p.m. local time the day of the announcement, down from the previous close of $2.33.

Trinseo expects the closures in Italy to result in an annualized profitability improvement of about $20 million and an annual reduction in capital expenditures of about $10 million. Trinseo expects to record pre-tax charges ranging from $80 million to $100 million.

The potential closure at Schkopau, which is being negotiated with the Works Council of Trinseo Deutschland GmbH, would improve profitability by about $10 million annually. European PS production would be consolidated at the company’s Tessenderlo, Belgium facility.

Trinseo reported a net loss of $348 million in 2024 on sales of $3.5 billion. The company finished the year with long-term debt of $2.2 billion, according to data from S&P Capital IQ.

The Rho MMA plant has a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The Schkopau PS plant has a nameplate capacity of 130,000 metric tons per year, while the Tessenderlo plant has a combined capacity of 180,000 metric tons per year, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

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INEOS has confirmed its intention to shut two production units in Rheinberg, Germany, with the loss of 175 jobs. The proposed closures are the direct result of crippling energy and carbon costs, and a lack of tariff protection, said the company.

The intention to close, which has been shared with employees, reflects a deepening crisis across Europe’s chemical sector.

Stephen Dossett, CEO of INEOS Inovyn, said: “Europe is committing industrial suicide. While competitors in the US and China benefit from cheap energy, European producers are being priced out by our own policies and absence of tariff protection. Meanwhile, high-emission imports flood our market unchecked. It’s completely unsustainable and if not immediately addressed will lead to further closures, job losses and increased dependency on other regions for essential materials.”

Both plants produce essential chemicals. The Allylics unit makes the key ingredient for epoxy resins vital in defense, aerospace, cars and renewable energy infrastructure. The electrochemical facility produces chlorine crucial for clean water, medicines, industrial processes and sanitation.

These closures are part of a wider trend as Europe’s competitiveness collapses. Since 2019, output in Germany has dropped by 18%, driving job losses and reduced investment. INEOS has closed plants in Grangemouth (UK), Geel (Belgium). It is closing Gladbeck (Germany), and has mothballed assets in Tavaux (France) and Martorell (Spain).

“We’ve reached the point where well invested, efficient European plants are closing, while global emissions rise,” Dossett said. “It’s not just economic madness. It’s environmental hypocrisy.”

INEOS will now focus on preserving its remaining PVC operations in Rheinberg to support around 300 skilled jobs. This requires urgent state support to help cover significant local transitioning costs.

The business deeply regrets the decision to close Rheinberg’s cell rooms and Allylics operations and is conscious of the impact it will have on staff and wider German supply chain.

“INEOS Inovyn will work closely with partners and employees to minimize the impact.” said Dossett “We are doing everything we can to protect what is still viable, but we can’t do it alone. If governments want to keep strategic manufacturing in Europe, they must help manage this transition and restore competitiveness.”

INEOS firmly criticized the EU’s absence of tariff protection. While the US has introduced strong tariffs, effectively blocking the oversupply of commodity chemicals from Korea, Taiwan, and China, some based on cheap Russian feedstocks, Europe opens its doors to displaced local production.

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Elastomers producer Arlanxeo Holding BV (The Hague, Netherlands) has announced its intent to permanently close its synthetic rubber plant at Port Jerome, France, due to weak demand from the rubber market, as per Chemweek.

“The European chemical industry continues to face persistent weak demand and declining competitiveness driven by rising costs, unbalanced global markets, and increased regulatory pressure,” CEO Stephen Van Santbrink said Oct. 2. “These conditions have generated a significant burden on the sector across the regional value chain. Arlanxeo has not been an exception to these challenges. The Port Jerome site has remained in a structurally loss-making position,” he said.

Santbrink said that despite “numerous improvement efforts,” the company does not foresee a “viable path to a sustained structural improvement.”

Arlanxeo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco and a consumer of butadiene. It produces polybutadiene rubber (PBR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) at Port Jerome. Aramco acquired sole ownership of Arlanxeo in December 2018.

The downstream tire market has seen ongoing weak demand, with competitive imports from China entering the European market. As a result, the European Union launched an antidumping duty investigation against Chinese tires in May.

Despite this, the domestic tire and rubber markets continue to see weak demand.

“The market is very weak and poor. There is very little buying demand and no one expects any change until well into 2026,” a rubber trader said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, last assessed SBR dry grades 1500-1502 at €1,625 per metric ton Sept. 26, down €5 per metric ton from Sept 19.
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The former CEO of JSC Tomskneft VNK (equally owned by NNK and Gazprom Neft ), Alexander Afonin, has become the production director of Novatek , sources familiar with the situation told Interfax.

Afonin was appointed director of Tomskneft in 2024.

Novatek's production director was Sergei Vasyunin from 2017. He has now left the company.

We remind, Since January 2025, the cost of Russian oil for MET has been calculated using a new formula, which is the sum of the average prices for Urals FOB at Primorsk and Urals Med Aframax FOB at Novorossiysk, multiplied by a factor of 0.78, as well as prices for the ESPO blend FOB Kozmino, multiplied by 0.22. Non-trading days are not taken into account. The price was $57.55 per barrel in August.

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Sales of Lada passenger cars fell 24.9% to 237,706 units on the Russian market in January-September 2025, and the brand's market share was 26.5% (-0.9 p.p.), according to calculations by Avtostat, as per Interfax.

A total of 26,375 Lada cars were sold in Russia in September, down 24.6% year-on-year, and the brand's market share was 21.5% (-1.7 p.p.). Lada retains its leadership in the number of cars sold.

In the model rating, the first place is also held by a Russian car - the Lada Granta, which sold 11,931 units in September (-25.1%), and 106,033 units in 9M (-28.8%). The market share of the Avtovaz bestseller fell below 10% and amounted to 9.7% in September, Avtostat said.

The Lada Vesta is in third place in popularity on the market with sales results of 5,997 units in September (-43.1%) and 61,888 units in January-September (-34%). For the second month in a row, the Lada Vesta was below the most popular foreign-brand car assembled locally on the Russian market - the Haval Jolion crossover, which sold 6,154 units in September. The largest year-on-year sales decline in September was for the Lada Vesta, Avtostat said.

The top ten best-selling passenger car models in Russia in September also included the Lada Niva Legend and the Lada Largus VP with sales results of 2,999 units (-18.2% YoY) and 2,740 units (up 2.5-fold YoY), respectively. In January-September 2025, sales of the Lada Niva Legend amounted to 24,267 units (-29.2%) and of the Lada Largus VP - 20,637 units (up eightfold).

In mid-September, the head of Avtovaz , Maxim Sokolov, announced a reduction in the production plan for Lada this year to a level of more than 300,000 units. A year ago, the concern wanted to produce 500,000 cars this year, but then adjusted its plans amid a weak market.

"Taking into account the operation of the plant in St. Petersburg, we will definitely produce more than 300,000 cars. How much more will be shown by the end of this year. The market has now started to 'swing', so I think we will be able to produce plus or minus 10% [from 300,000 units]. More precisely, we can produce as many as we want. It is important to balance it with sales," Sokolov said in mid-September to journalists regarding Avtovaz's production plans for this year.

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