Westlake概要 http://www.westlakegroup.com/
The Westlake Group is a
member of Chao Group, which also includes our sister company, the
Titan Group in Malaysia.
Chao Group is a leading global petrochemical and plastics
manufacturer. Strategic vertical integration and operating
synergies facilitate the efficient supply of our products to
world markets while keeping cost low. These operating strengths
help ensure added value, uncompromising quality and dependable
supply for our customers.
The Westlake Group owns
and operates facilities for the manufacture of petrochemicals,
plastics, and fabricated plastic products in North America, with
sales on a global basis. Integration of commodity petrochemicals
and intermediates to polymers and fabricated plastic products has
been key to the growth strategy. Westlake has focused on
integration in both the olefins and vinyls markets. The Westlake
Group is comprised of the companies listed below:
Chemicals / Petrochemicals
Westlake Petrochemicals Corporation
Westlake Polymers Corporation
Westlake Monomers Corporation
Westlake PVC Corporation
Westlake Styrene Corporation
Westlake CA&O
Fabricated Products
North American Pipe Corporation
Ameriflow (PE Pipe)
Westech Fence
Engineered Profiles Limited (EPL)
Fiberlux
能力 単位：百万ポンド
会社名 製品 立地 Lake Charles Calvert City Westlake Petrochemicals
エチレン
2,300
+
Westlake CA&O
エチレン
+
400
塩素
+
250
Westlake Polymers
LDPE
850
+
LLDPE
550
+
Westlake Monomers
VCM
+
1,100
Westlake PVC
PVC
+
300
Westlake Styrene
SM
430
+
Westlake Petrochemicals Corporation
Westlake Petrochemicals
Corporation operates a 2.3 billion-pound per year ethylene complex near Lake Charles,
Louisiana. The company was established in 1988, began
construction in 1989, and commenced operation in 1991. The plant
is located on a 320-acre site with ample space for future
expansion and additional projects.
M.W. Kellogg Company designed and constructed the first ethylene
unit in 1990. Kellogg's design provides high-energy efficiency
and ethylene yield. Among the numerous special features
incorporated into the state-of-the-art design is 'millisecond'
furnace technology, high horsepower steam turbines, and an
advanced microprocessor distributed control system. These
features make the production of ethylene very cost competitive.
Also incorporated into the design are many features that reduce
environmental pollutants, below levels by applicable laws and
regulations.
ABB Lummus Crest constructed the second ethylene unit. The unit
was placed in service in the 4th quarter 1998. The #2 ethylene
unit uses ethane, E/P mix and propane as feedstock. Co-products
produced include chemical grade propylene, crude butadiene, and
pyrolysis gasoline.
The ethylene plant is connected by pipeline to other Westlake
Group facilities and to unaffiliated facilities in the Lake
Charles area. It is also connected to Union Carbide's &
Shell's ethylene pipeline systems, enabling the delivery of
ethylene throughout the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast.
The ethylene plants are an important part of the Westlake Group's
vertical integration strategy. It supplies feedstock for
low-density polyethylene produced by Westlake Polymers
Corporation, vinyl chloride monomer produced by Westlake Monomers
Corporation and styrene monomer produced by Westlake Styrene
Corporation. This vertical integration is not only economically
advantageous, but also assures a reliable supply of high-purity
feedstock to the downstream Westlake Group Plants.
Westlake Polymers
Corporation
Established in 1985,
Westlake Polymers Corporation acquired the polyethylene
manufacturing facilities of Cities Service Company near Lake
Charles, Louisiana in 1986. Located on 40 acres, this low-density
polyethylene (LDPE) utilizes some of the largest reactors in
the industry. Westlake Polymers began production in 1986 with a
capacity of 220 million pounds per year. Capacity was expanded in
1988 to 750 million pounds per year and again in 1993 to 850 million
pounds per year. One
tubular and four autoclave reactors are used in the manufacturing
process. The primary raw material for LDPE is ethylene, which can
be supplied totally by Westlake Petrochemicals.
Products manufactured by Westlake Polymers include a full range
of homopolymer and copolymer LDPE resins. Resins are produced for
extrusion coating, blown and cast clarity film, injection
molding, blow molding, and fractional melt applications.
Westlake Polymers commissioned its first Linear
Polyethylene
facility in September, 1998 at Lake Charles, Louisiana, close to
its existing, conventional LDPE facility and immediately adjacent
to Westlake Petrochemicals, which has ample ethylene capacity to
meet the current and future needs of both polyethylene
facilities. The Linear Polyethylene plant is one of the newest
gas-phase polymerization complexes in the Western Hemisphere. The
primary process technology employed is the BP Chemicals licensed
InnoveneR, fluidized-bed process coupled with advanced
Ziegler-Natta catalyst technology. Two separate production trains
have a combined capacity of approximately 550 million
pounds per year. All
products are manufactured as fully-formulated, pelletized resins,
then loaded into Westlake's internally-maintained fleet of
railcars for subsequent shipment to a variety of locations
throughout North America.
Westlake's planned grade slate encompasses a range of linear
polyethylenes for the blown film, cast film and injection molding
industries. Consumer and Industrial products manufactured with
Westlake's new polyethylene resins include Food Packaging Films,
Industrial Liners, Merchandise Bags, Shipping Sacks, Housewares,
Food Tubs, Toys, Pails, Industrial Crates, Caps, Closures,
Beverage Cups, Sporting Goods and Lawn and Garden implements.
Consistent with Westlake's established approach in the
conventional LDPE market, the company's entry into the Linear
Polyethylene business has been typified by a highly focused
product thrust directed at select end-use applications. A
rigorous commitment to specific areas of a highly diversified
polyolefins marketplace has allowed Westlake to standout in
defined industry segments that benefit from Westlake's process
technology and unwavering production standards.
Westlake Monomers
Corporation acquired its vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant from
the B.F. Goodrich Company in 1990. The plant is located within a
300-acre chemical complex in Calvert City, Kentucky,
approximately 15 miles east of Paducah on the Tennessee River. It
is strategically located to serve downstream polyvinyl chloride
facilities located in the Midwest and Northeast United States.
Capacity of the plant is 1.1 billion pounds of VCM per year.
Raw materials for VCM are ethylene and chlorine, which also may
be obtained in the form of ethylene dichloride. These raw
materials may be purchased from within the chemical complex or
brought in by waterway or rail. Through exchanges and tolls,
ethylene from Westlake Lake Charles manufacturing facilities may
be used as raw material. VCM is shipped to various customer
locations, including Westlake PVC Corporation, for polymerization
to polyvinyl chloride.
Our polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) resin manufacturing facility in Calvert City, Kentucky is
owned and operated by Westlake PVC Corporation. The plant was
acquired in 1991 and was formerly operated by Air Products and
Chemicals.
The Calvert City, PVC plant is located on a 25-acre site.
Westlake PVC Corporation benefits from vertical integration as
its primary raw material, vinyl chloride monomer, is produced by
the Westlake Monomers Corporation plant, approximately one mile
away.
PVC is the world's second most widely used plastic; only
polyethylene is used in greater volume. PVC is produced in powder
form, then combined with other ingredients to create a compound
with specific processing and end-use properties. PVC is often
used in infrastructure development and building products. In this
market, Westlake Group is integrated into the manufacturer of
pipe through North American Pipe Corporation. Other end uses for
PVC include pipe fittings, vinyl siding, bottles and flexible and
rigid film and sheeting uses for packaging, credit cards, floppy
diskettes and wall coverings.
Westlake PVC has engaged in a program of modernization to remain
competitive in the marketplace. Various projects have increased
production capacity, reduced conversion costs, and ensured
compliance with all safety and environmental regulations.
Westlake Styrene
Corporation is located on 11.5 acres of the 320-acre Westlake
Petrochemical complex. The plant started commercial production in
1992. Capacity of the facility is 430 million pounds per year.
Process technology was licensed from Badger Design and
Constructors, Inc., which also designed and constructed the
facility. The Badger technology is recognized around the world as
one of the premier technologies for producing high quality, cost
competitive styrene monomer.
The plant design includes the most modern and effective safety
and environmental technologies available. These features reduce
environmental pollutants to well below required levels and help
ensure the safety of plant employees and the surrounding
community. In June 1993, the plant achieved the milestone of
three years of construction and operation without a lost-time
accident.
To meet feedstock requirements, the plant is connected by
pipelines to the adjacent Westlake Petrochemicals Corporation
plant for ethylene and to another nearby facility for benzene. A
1.5-mile pipeline provides access to the Westlake Group's marine
terminal, located on the Calcasieu River about 35 miles from the
Gulf of Mexico. A tank farm at the terminal allows for the
exporting of styrene by barge or ocean vessel. The dock can
accommodate vessels with a draft of 40 feet and lengths of up to
1,000 feet. The marine terminal is located on a 309-acre site
with rail facilities. It is ideally suited for future expansion.
Westlake CA&O
Corporation's Calvert City, Kentucky facilities were acquired
from BFGoodrich in August 1997. In addition to a 400 MM pound
ethylene facility,
the site includes a chlor-alkali facility with a capacity of 250 MM pounds of
chlorine and 275 MM
pounds of high purity (rayon grade) caustic soda.
Rock salt, the raw
material required by the plant, is purchased under a long-term
supply arrangement and shipped from the Gulf Coast via barge.
Electrical power is purchased from TVA. The Company in the
downstream production of VCM effectively uses all its chlorine
production. The high purity caustic soda commands a premium price
over the more common diaphragm caustic, and is sold to customers
in the mid-western U. S.
Westlake's sister company, The Titan Group, is a joint venture of the Chao Group and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and is committed to the development of the Malaysian petrochemical industry. Titan built Malaysia's first and largest integrated petrochemicals complex. It is also the first to produce olefins and polyolefins. The Titan Group's complex is an important resource toward meeting the growing demand for petrochemical and plastic products in Malaysia and the Asian market. （Westlake's homepage)
株主 53.2% owned by the Chao Group, 45.5% by
PNB and 1.3% by Sinochem
（54% owned by the Chao group and
46% by PNB との記載もあり）
立地：パシールクダン
エチレン Titan Petrochem 630 HDPE Titan PE 100 LLDPE Titan PE 200 LDPE Titan PE 200 プロピレン Titan Petrochem 330 PP Titan PP 370
Titan
committed to invest in Malaysia By P.W. Thong （The Star
Online 2002/10/28）
Titan Petrochemical
and Polymers Bhd, the country’s biggest private petrochemical
company, is committed to invest in Malaysia for many years to
come after setting foot in the country more than a decade ago.
Its group managing
director James Chao said Titan to date has put in some RM5.5bil
for its petrochemical and plastics facilities in Johor.
This is by far the
largest integrated petrochemical investment made by its 53.2%-owned
shareholder, the Chao Group International of Taiwan.
James Chao
Permodalan Nasional
Bhd and China National Chemical Import and Export Corp (Sinochem)
are the other shareholders of Titan. PNB holds a 45.5% stake while Sinochem has a
1.3% interest.
“We think for the
business we are in, which is the raw material industry for
plastic manufacturing, we have chosen the right location. We can’t be at
a better place other than Malaysia.”
“I’m sure
we can have lower feedstock in Saudi Arabia or other oil rich
producer countries in the Middle East, but we will also incur a
certain amount of political risks for being there,’’ Chao
said at a media briefing in Pasir Gudang last week.
While Malaysia might
not be the best place for labour-intensive operations, he said: “The
country has adequate skilled workforce for capital intensive
industry such as petrochemicals.”
Furthermore, the
Malaysian government has been very supportive and pro-active
towards foreign investors such as The Chao Group.
“Hence, we are
happy with Malaysia and will remained committed to this country.
And I think Malaysia is still a hidden secret, not
well-publicised internationally, as a great place to invest in,’’ he
added.
In terms of further
investments in Malaysia , Chao said Titan, which specialises in
naphtha cracker processing and production of a variety of
polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) products, was looking
into value added products.
Earlier this month,
Titan started to produce metallocene polyethylene, a high-end
polymer used by plastic fabricators.
Chao said Titan planned to
produce 30,000 tonnes of metallocene polyethylene a year, under the name of
Titanceed.
About half of the
product would be used for domestic consumption, with the
remaining exported to Asia.
“We are the first
producer for metallocene polyethylene in Asia. This shows we are
not only committed to bring the latest product sophistication and
technology into Malaysia, but also that Malaysian plastic
fabricators are very sophisticated.
“This is because
Malaysia, despite being a small nation, consumes some 10,000
tones of high-end metallocene products every year, which is
equivalent to Taiwan and China,’’ Chao said.
He also said Titan,
which currently has two naphtha crackers and five polymer
plants, had now
attained the required critical mass of a global player through
economies of scale, product diversification and cost
competitiveness equal to top tiered Asian producers.
Titan currently
produced about 530,000 tonnes of polyethylene (PE)
products, and 370,000 tonnes of polypropylene (PP) products.
Chao sees demand for
petrochemical and polymer products to pick up next year, after
suffering from industry-wide slump due to the Asian economy
crisis and excess capacity.
He said the industry
had yet to recovery from the onset of the Asian financial crisis
in 1997, and excess capacity, which had not only affected the
general prices of PE and PP, but also sent margins dipping below
the breakeven price of US$200 per tonne this year.
However, going
forward, Chao believed the polymer industry was due for an
upturn.
“By all accounts,
our industry cycle does not follow the stock market or business
cycle, but the capital cycle. And we believe a recovery will
come,’’ he said.
Based on the current
level of stagnant supply and recovering demand, Chao said the
petrochemical and polymer industry would most likely post solid
growth next year, with business conditions taking off by 2004.
In particular, he
expects growth in the consumption for PE and PP to grow by 5% for
Asia this year, while China and Malaysia to post growth of 12%
and 8% respectively.
As for Malaysia,
Chao sees demand for both PP and PE to double from the current
levels by 2006.
Usually, the growth
of PP and PE is about 1.5 times a nation’s GDP growth, Chao said. But he
cautioned that the optimism would have to take into account such
as impending war against Iraq by US, the hike in the oil price,
which could potentially dampen demand.
Apart from improved
economic conditions, he added that supply of petrochemicals and
polymers, which had been stagnant, was also expected recover.
“The industry
cycle for petrochemicals and polymers is easily predictable, as
it takes three years to add any new capacities,” he
said. It normally takes two years to plan, three years to build,
and another half a year before starting production.
“Given that, we
can usually predict the industry capacity to a certain degree of
accuracy. Hence, we are bidding our time in awaiting for the
upturn, and hoping that no one will add new capacities,’’ Chao
said.
Going forward, Chao
said Titan would focus on “de-bottlenecking” exercise
and low cost expansion programme, compared with a major
capital-intensive expansion.
As for a listing on
the KLSE, Chao said the group was still keen on the exercise.
However, he gave
little details on the listing timeframe, the size of the initial
public offering (IPO) and stressed that the current market
sentiment was not conducive for a listing yet.
Platts 2002/10/25
Malaysia Titan to
expand petchem capacity by 10% by 2006
Malaysia's Titan
Petrochemical has plans to expand both its naphtha crackers and
its downstream petrochemical plants by 10% until around the end
of 2005 or the beginning of 2006, a company source said Thursday.
Titan would consume the incremental PP and PE output captively,
while part of its expanded benzene and toluene production would
be exported, the source added. The move is based on forecasts
that global demand for plastics will grow 6-8% per annum.
2002/12/30 Financial
Times
Titan benefiting much from sister firm in US
TITAN Petrochemical & Polymers Bhd, Malaysia's first fully
integrated petrochemical complex and the largest integrated
olefin and polyolefin producer in the country, has benefited
enormously by being able to tap into the technical and management
expertise of its sister company in the US.
The
Titan group is 54% owned by the Chao group and 46% by PNB Equity
Resource Corp Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan
Nasional Bhd. The
Chao group also wholly owns Westlake Corp, one of the most
competitive petrochemical players in North America.
According to Titan vice president (corporate affairs) and company
secretary Francis Pereira, close ties between Titan and its
US-based sister company Westlake have enabled the Malaysian-based
petrochemical company to employ state-of-the-art facilities and
achieve low production costs in its plants in Johor.
Titan, with its headquarters in Malaysia, produces ethylene,
propylene, polyethylene, and polypropylene. The group has
invested some RM5.5bil to date on its petrochemical facilities in
Johor's Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat, making it the largest
investor in the state and in the petrochemical industry in
Malaysia.
Titan is also the 2nd largest single-site polyolefin producer in
South East Asia, with annual ethylene and propylene capacity
reaching 630,000 tonnes and 330,000 tonnes, respectively, and
polymer capacity of 900,000 tonnes per annum.
According to Pereira, the company also has one of the lowest
production costs in the region, thanks to the technical and
management expertise from Westlake.
He said that one advantage Westlake had over other petrochemical
producers was its diverse source of technologies employed.
Westlake senior vice president (administration) David R. Hansen
told reporters at a media briefing at the company's headquarters
in Houston, Texas, that Westlake had assisted Titan in its
initial start-up and commissioning of the RM3.2bil, phase 2
expansion programme between 1997 and 2000.
The US-based group, which is about two-and-a-half times the size
of Titan in terms of annual sales, had also seconded some of its
workers through an on-going service agreement with the Malaysian
company.
Apart from the provision of technical and management expertise,
Hansen said, both Westlake and Titan had also been able to share
market information on the region's petrochemical and polymer
industry and prices.
This in turn has helped both companies to better assess the
global petrochemical markets, allowing faster and timely response
to changes in the world's demand and supply situation for
petrochemicals and polymers.
The Westlake group is a leading producer of commodity
petrochemicals and polymers, annually producing the world's most
recognised basic chemicals and polymers. Its North American
operations comprises three operating business groups, viz
olefins, vinyls and fabricated products.
The Olefin business group manufactures ethylene and its
derivative, polyethylene, as well as styrene monomer. The vinyls
business group is a leading producer of chlor-alkali chemicals,
vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Platts 2002/5/15
China's Taita mulls 150 kt/yr ABS
investment at Zhongsan （中山）
China's Taita Zhongsan is
considering to build an ABS plant at Zhongsan to complement its
existing 100,000 mt/yr expandable polystyrene plant there,
industry sources said Wednesday. Its decision on whether to
proceed with the investment would depend on the availability of
butadiene and acrylonitrile feedstocks, they said. They believed
that it would be less of a problem acquiring styrene feed. The
proposed plant is expected to have a nameplate capacity of at
least 150,000
mt/yr, they added.
Taita Zhongsan is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan's Taita Chemical, which has the
capacity to produce 100,000mt of PS, and 60,000mt each of ABS and
EPS at Kaohsiung.
Westlake Chemical Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Westlake Chemical Corporation, the Houston-based international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and fabricated products, is recognizing its 20th year of business with celebrations at all of its locations beginning today. In addition, the company's operating units will commemorate the anniversary with their local communities, including a "Westlake Community Service Day" at each location where employees will participate in a community service project.
Albert Chao, President and CEO of Westlake Chemical Corporation said regarding the anniversary, "As we celebrate 20 years of business success, we want to give back to the communities where we work and live. We are looking forward to further growth in the years ahead, providing a good place to work, creating the building blocks for products that consumers need and contributing to the communities in which we operate."
Westlake's 20 years of
growth
In 1986, following three decades of success in Asia, the Chao Group entered the U.S. market and began
producing polyethylene at its first plant in Lake Charles, La.,
on Sept. 12. From that beginning Westlake has grown to 14
operating sites with 13 facilities in the U.S., an operation in
Alberta, Canada, and a joint venture in Suzhou, China. Westlake
founder T.T. Chao's two sons, James and Albert Chao, lead the
company today as chairman and president & chief executive
office, respectively.
In August 2004, Westlake became a public company that now employs approximately 2,200 and produces 10 billion pounds of products annually with over $2.5b in annual revenue. The company's operations are divided into the vinyls and olefins business segments. The vinyl segment's products include vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), caustic soda, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and an array of downstream PVC fabricated products such as PVC pipe, fence, window, door and decking components, garden accessories and PVC film. The olefin segment produces and markets ethylene, styrene, propylene, low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). In addition to producing and marketing products under the Westlake Chemical Corporation name the PVC pipe products are sold through the North American Pipe Company subsidiary and the other PVC components are manufactured and marketed through Westech Building Products.