2011/4/5 Westlake

Westlake Announces Ethylene Capacity Expansion Plans

Westlake Chemical Corporation today announced an expansion program to include increasing the ethane-based ethylene capacity at Lake Charles, LA, and the evaluation of expansion options and the upgrade of ethylene production facilities at Calvert City, KY in order to capitalize on new low cost ethane and other "light" feedstocks being developed in North America.

As part of this program each of the company's two light feedstock ethylene crackers in Lake Charles will be expanded. These expansions will commence as planned maintenance turnarounds occur in order to provide ethylene for existing internal derivatives units and the merchant market. The first cracker expansion will increase capacity by approximately 230-240 million pounds per year, while also increasing feedstock flexibility. It is expected this project would be completed by late 2012 and a second expansion concluded by the end of 2014.

At Calvert City, the company is evaluating conversion from propane to ethane feedstock that is becoming available from increasing North American gas liquids reserves from sources such as shale gas. Additionally, expansion options are being evaluated for the site and engineering and design studies are underway.

Westlake operates a large ethylene complex near Lake Charles, Louisiana. Most of the production is used internally to produce higher value-added chemical products.
Also, there is the capacity to produce ethylene at our vinyls operation, located in Calvert City, Kentucky. The ethylene manufactured at Calvert City is used internally in the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).

"New technical developments in the natural gas industry make expansion in North America attractive and we are accelerating engineering and feedstock sourcing efforts in order to reduce our external purchases of ethylene and provide for attractive future Westlake growth," said Albert Chao, Westlake President and CEO. "These projects provide an exciting opportunity to capitalize on advantaged feed sources expected from shale gas reserves at two of our core production sites."

Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK)

Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and fabricated products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC and PVC building products including pipe, windows and fence. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.westlake.com.

The statements in this release relating to the ethylene modifications and expansions, as well as any other matters that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially. For more detailed information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, please refer to Westlake's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, which was filed in February 2011.

2012/9/24  Westlake                        Westlake Announces Ethylene Capacity Expansion Plans

Westlake Chemical to Expand Ethylene Capacity in Lake Charles, LA in First Quarter 2013

Westlake Chemical Corporation announced today that it will perform planned maintenance and an expansion of the Petro 2 ethylene unit at its complex in Lake Charles, LA in the first quarter of 2013. This expansion will increase ethane-based ethylene capacity by approximately 230 - 240 million pounds annually in support of the Company's ethylene integration strategy. The unit is expected to be down approximately 50 days for the work to be completed.

2012/10/2　Westlake　

Westlake to Convert Calvert City Ethylene Feedstock to Ethane

- Increasing Ethylene and PVC Capacity
- Commonwealth of Kentucky Provides Tax Incentives

Westlake Chemical Corporation announced today it is converting the feedstock for its Calvert City, Kentucky ethylene plant from propane to ethane along with increasing ethylene capacity from 450 million pounds per year to 630 million pounds per year. This expansion and feedstock conversion will enhance Westlake's vinyl chain integration and leverage low cost ethane being developed in the Marcellus shale area.

北米では、天然ガスが豊富にあり、エタン、そしてＬＰガスを原料としてエチレン業界を伸ばしてきたので、エタンが北米では一番多く、それに続いてプロパン、ブタンもクラッキングに使われている。

2011/8

“In Calvert City … we continue to review the options surrounding the propane to ethane conversion, including what, if any, new incremental ethylene capacity will be produced at the time of the conversion,” said Westlake senior vice president Dave Hansen.

The Calvert City cracker, which uses propane to produce ethylene, has a capacity of 195,000 tonnes/year.

"We're waiting for a Marcellus [shale] pipeline to bring ethane from the Marcellus down to the Gulf Coast," Chao said. "We hope to tap into those pipelines to bring ethane to Calvert City. Once we convert from propane to ethane, the potential for incremental debottlenecks will add some capacity at Calvert City."

In addition, Westlake announced an expansion of the existing PVC plant in Calvert City, Kentucky that will add approximately 200 million pounds per year of capacity to the existing 1,100 million pounds of annual capacity. This expansion allows Westlake to take advantage of the increased ethylene production at the site and to provide additional PVC resin to meet the growing demands of our global customers.

The construction costs for these projects are estimated to range between $210 to $240 million. The ethylene expansion and feedstock conversion project is targeted for start-up in the second quarter of 2014 and the PVC expansion is projected to start up in late 2014. These projects are expected to create approximately 300 construction jobs.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has preliminarily approved tax incentives up to $10 million, with an additional $7 million pending approval through the Kentucky Reinvestment Act (KRA), for these new projects and other work currently in progress at the site.  KRA is designed to assist companies that need to make significant capital investment in Kentucky facilities in order to remain competitive.

"This is an outstanding step forward for Westlake and a tremendous boost for the economy of Calvert City and the surrounding area," said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. "Kentucky has built a partnership with Westlake and we're thrilled to see this multi-million dollar investment in the Commonwealth."

In speaking of these projects Westlake Chemical Corporation's President and CEO Albert Chao stated, "These announced projects demonstrate our commitment to our overall integration strategy and to leveraging our access to low cost feedstock. It further confirms the importance of the Calvert City operations and our commitment to building a strong and successful site.  We again extend our appreciation to Gov. Beshear and his administration, along with our supplier partners, for their continued support of our future in Kentucky and helping us to remain competitive at the site."

Mar 07, 2013 (M&A Navigator via COMTEX) 

Saint-Gobain to sell PVC Pipe & Foundations to Westlake Chemical

French building materials and glass producer Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA said it had agreed to sell its US-based PVC Pipe & Foundations business to US Westlake Chemical Corp for an enterprise value of USD175m (EUR134.7m). The deal, which has yet to receive US regulatory clearance, is seen to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
Saint-Gobain will sell the business, which produces polyvinyl chloride pipes and fittings for agricultural and industrial applications, to Westlake Chemical's unit North American Pipe Corp. The offload of the operation, which is part of Saint-Gobain's Exterior Products Division and sells products under the CertainTeed brand, is in line with the vendor's strategy to refocus on the Habitat market, with the CertainTeed brand becoming fully focused on the construction market, especially the residential segment, it said.

The funds raised via the deal will be mainly used for Saint-Gobain's acquisition plan, which targets small- or medium-sized companies, the French company added.

5/28/2014

Westlake Chemical Acquires Specialty PVC Producer Vinnolit

Westlake Chemical Corporation announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire German-based Vinnolit Holdings GmbH and its subsidiary companies from Advent International, a private equity firm. Vinnolit is an integrated global leader in specialty polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") resins. The acquisition price of Euro 490 million will be financed using existing Westlake cash and credit facilities. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014, subject to standard closing conditions, including regulatory review.

Vinnolit has six production facilities located in Gendorf, Burghausen, Cologne, Knapsack and Schkopau in Germany and Hillhouse in the United Kingdom. These operations have a combined annual capacity of 780 thousand metric tons of PVC, including specialty paste and suspension grades, 665 thousand metric tons of vinyl chloride monomer ("VCM") and 475 thousand metric tons of membrane grade caustic soda. Vinnolit has a world class research and development facility in Gendorf and applications laboratory in Burghausen. Vinnolit's products are suitable for a wide range of industrial and building product applications including automotive sealants, cable sheathing, flooring, medical applications, pipes, rigid film, technical coatings, wall covering and window profiles.

Vinnolit's headquarters are located in Ismaning, Germany, outside of Munich. The company generated Euro 917 million of revenue in 2013 and employs approximately 1,400 employees.

"The acquisition of Vinnolit is an excellent strategic fit for Westlake. It will allow us to expand our chlorvinyl business globally and adds important specialty PVC products and technology to our existing portfolio," says Albert Chao, Westlake's President and CEO. "Vinnolit is an impressive company with an outstanding reputation for meeting customer needs with superior technology, product quality, and operating excellence. We look forward to working with their talented team as they join the Westlake family of companies."

"We have transformed Vinnolit into the leading specialty PVC manufacturer and remain dedicated to further growing the company's business," commented Dr Josef Ertl, Managing Director of Vinnolit, on behalf of the management board. "We thank Advent for their support and strategic advice in developing Vinnolit and facilitating its successful transformation. We, as a management team, look forward to beginning a new chapter in our company's history and continuing our successful growth path together with Westlake."

Ranjan Sen, General Manager at Advent International in Frankfurt, said: "We are delighted with the successful development of Vinnolit and thank its management team and the company's employees for their cooperation and dedication throughout our investment. Vinnolit is well positioned to successfully expand its leadership position in specialty PVC further under the new ownership of Westlake."