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MEGlobal reaches 5 year milestone [ 29 Jun, 2009]
MEGlobal, a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of ethylene glycol (EG), will celebrate five years of operation July 1, 2009. The company was formed in 2004, a joint venture of two of the world’s leading chemical producers, The Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC).
“MEGlobal has proved to be a very successful and strategic joint venture, said Henry Roth, president and CEO of MEGlobal. “Reaching our five-year anniversary is a testament to the commitment of MEGlobal employees around the globe. We have achieved a leadership position in the marketplace through our innovation, market expertise and sole focus on EG.”
MEGlobal is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with just over 200 employees worldwide and has production facilities in Fort Saskatchewan and Prentiss, Alberta, Canada. MEGlobal serves customers around the world, bringing more than 70 years of global experience and expertise in the development, manufacturing, supply and marketing of this versatile product.
“At MEGlobal we understand sustainability is a global challenge. We strive for a balance between business growth, safe operations and healthy communities,” said Roth. “We are committed to minimizing environmental impact and protecting our resources in order to preserve for future generations. As part of MEGlobal’s 2012 Goals, we are committed to using resources more efficiently, providing value to our key stakeholders, and delivering solutions to meet customer needs.”
About MEGlobal
MEGlobal™ is a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of merchant monoethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG). Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, MEGlobal markets EG which is used as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibers, polyethylene terephthalate resins (PET), antifreeze formulations and other industrial products. With approximately 200 employees worldwide, MEGlobal operates production facilities in Fort Saskatchewan and Red Deer in Alberta, Canada. MEGlobal is a 50:50 joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait. Further information can be found at www.meglobal.biz
About The Dow Chemical Company
With sales of $58 billion in 2008 and 46,000 employees worldwide, Dow is a diversified chemical company that combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in around 160 countries, connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. On April 1, 2009, Dow acquired Rohm and Haas Company, a global specialty materials company with sales of $10 billion in 2008 and 15,000 employees worldwide. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
About Petroleum Industries Company
As part of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation family, PIC is at the heart of the national strategy to maximize the value of Kuwait’s hydrocarbon resources, and is focused on increasing its petrochemical contributions.
It is focused on strategic growth inside and outside Kuwait through diversification, further use of strategic alliances, as well as pursuing successful joint ventures such as EQUATE, GPIC and TKOC. More information is available at www.pic.com.kw
Source: Business Wire
India becomes major MEG importer, trend to persist in 2010 [ 12 Jun, 2009]
Indian imports of monoethylene glycol (MEG) have spiked over the past year and the country could be on its way to become the second-largest market after China for the fibre intermediate, buyers and sellers said on Friday.
In February and March, MEG imports into India surpassed the 50,000 tonnes mark, according to statistics released by the Indian customs and this looked set to increase steadily going into 2010.
Just eight months earlier, in July 2008, imports were no more than 3,000 tonnes.
“Formerly, the Indian market was dominated by just one major producer, with not so significant imports from the Middle East and other parts of the world,” said a source from a leading supplier.
But that seemed to be changing, as imports had spiked as much as 90% just comparing the volumes between July and August 2008, which saw imports rising to 26,000 tonnes.
“Many new polyester plants have started up and more would startup soon,” said a source from JBF Industries.
JBF started off as a small, batch polyester producer importing fibre-grade chips just a few years back. Now it is the second largest producer of polyester filament yarns in India with a film-grade polyethylene terephthlate (PET) production unit in the United Arab Emirates.
“You see not only JBF, we have newcomers like Garden Silk Mill and Bhilosa, we’ve company now,” said a source from Indorama Synthetics, one of the country’s biggest producer of polyester and PET, as well as plants in southeast Asia, the US and Europe.
“India’s polyester industry has started a period of being squeezed by feedstock costs, as so many new polyester plants start up and they compete for the limited MEG,” said a source from Reliance Industries, the chief local supplier of the fibre intermediate and also the country’s top polyester producer.
In 2009, an estimated 1.85m tonnes of new polycondensation capacities would be added in India but there would be no new MEG plant.
“The next plant coming up is the one by [Indian Oil Corp], which is not due to be around the first or second quarter of next year,” the Reliance source said.
Hence, the only way to satisfy the growing demand of MEG is to import, said traders.
“There’re not many traders in India handling MEG now, but I think this is a growing business and we see imports rising in the next one or two years,” said a trader based in Mumbai in the west of the country.
In 2010, another 1.85m tonnes/year of polycondensation capacities could be added to the scene.
“I’ve had enquiries from Sumeet Industries, who would be testing their plant and we’ve signed contract with Wellknown,” said a major Japanese trader, who believed that India could become a major market for MEG soon.
Most market participants tend to agree, but some had reservations if India could ever grow to become anywhere near China, the world’s top consumer of MEG.
“China imports some 350,000 tonnes of MEG every month on an average, and their storage tank capacity is so big, it will remain the main market for everybody,” said a Singapore-based trader with offices in both China and India.
So while Indian MEG imports are expected to continue to grow, the market would still be a secondary one, said participants.
“Indonesia’s polyester industry is still healthy, and Thailand is still importing, and so is Vietnam and even eastern Europe; India can be big, but China will be bigger,” said a source from a southeast Asian MEG producer.
Source: ICIS
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