With the opening of new plants for PET and PTA at Rotterdam, US group Eastman Chemical (PO Box 1972, Kingsport, TN 37662 / USA – Europe: Tobias Asserlaan 5, NL-2517 KC The Hague) has solidified its position as world's leading producer of PET packaging resins. Some 50% of Eastman's PET polymerisation capacity is now outside the US, and the group claims to be Europe's largest supplier following the start-up of new plants at San Roque, Spain, and Workington, UK. Another new facility is due to come onstream at Zarante, Argentina, in Q3 1998. The PET plant at Rotterdam will have capacity to produce 130,000 t/y of Eastman's "Eastapak" resins, while the PTA unit will have output of 290,000 t/y.

James A. Lewis, vice president and general manager for container plastics, said the PTA plant is not only the first outside the US, but also the first grassroots plant to use all elements of the group's new production technology. He predicts that worldwide demand for PET containers will grow by 15-17% annually over the next five years. Demand for PET water bottles alone is projected to double over the next four years, he said. Eastman meanwhile has opened a new 30,000 t/y plant for glycol-modified polyester (PETG) resins in Malaysia that it says is "the world's most advanced."