After it was formally acquired by China’s Wanhua Industrial Group (Yantai, Shandong; http://en.wanhuagroup.com) on 31 January – see Plasteurope.com of 02.02.2011 – Hungarian PVC and isocyanate manufacturer BorsodChem (Kazincbarcika; www.borsodchem.hu) has announced that as part of its ongoing global integration effort, it will consolidate the sales and marketing divisions of both its Polyurethanes and PVC/Chloralkali business units.

The restructuring will be led by Eugene Wu, who previously served as president Asia Pacific of IBC producer Greif (Delaware, Ohio / USA; www.greif.com). Rik de Vos and Vladimir Karkoska, the respective heads of the Polyurethanes and PVC business units, will “pursue other career opportunities”, BorsodChem said in a press release.

Immediately after the Chinese takeover early this year, BorsodChem CEO Wolfgang Büchele had announced plans to shed the group’s PVC activities, either in the form of a joint venture or a divestment. Even though the announcement of the merger of the two units calls into question these divestment plans, Büchele told Plasteurope.com: “As there is no deal imminent, the integration improves short term efficiencies. As soon as the right partner is found for the PVC business, it will be carved out. In operations, the whole Vinyl Chain has been consolidated in parallel to integrating the sales and marketing in order to facilitate a later carve-out.”