Two players in the polycarbonate business are looking to enhance their position in one of the fastest growing engineering plastics markets. Dow Deutschland (PO Box 1120, D-21677 Stade) has announced plans to build a new polycarbonate plant at its site in Stade, Germany. At the same time Dow and DSM Engineering Plastics (NL-6130 AA Sittard) have announced a long-term capacity-right agreement for polycarbonate.

Under the deal DSM will have the right to obtain a fixed volume of resin from Dow's Stade plant. DSM presently manufactures polycarbonate and ABS/PC and polyester/PC blends at two sites in Evansville, USA and Stoney Creek, Canada, as well as manufacturing compounds at DSM Speciality Compounds (Paniswijerstraat 92 B-3600 Genk). Further investments in the Far East are being studied. Both Dow and DSM will continue to market and sell their respective products independently.

Once Dow's second plant is on stream, in the first quarter of 1999, its capacity at Stade will exceed 105,000 t and worldwide it will have annual capacity of over 200,000 t. Global demand for polycarbonate is put at about 1m t currently and the market is expected to grow by 5-10% over the next few years.