Polyester producer Indorama Ventures (IVL, Bangkok; www.indoramaventures.com) plans to invest about USD 81.6m (EUR 57m) in three new projects in Thailand and Indonesia. IVL said it will build a PET recycling plant and a bi-component fibres plant, both in Thailand, plus a bi-component yarns plant in Indonesia. Group CEO Aloke Lohia said the projects are part of plans to move further into specialty products and are expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2013.

The PET recycling project will be located in Nakhon Pathom, near Bangkok, and require a USD 22.4m investment. It will have the capacity to recycle 36,000 t of bottles per year, making 28,500 t of recycled polyester fibres and yarns, and is scheduled to begin operations by the fourth quarter of 2012. Thai waste collection company Wongpanich will supply the ‘post consumer’ PET bottles to the Nakhon Pathom facility for recycling. The recycled products will be used in applications such as drinks containers and yarns for premium garments.

IVL said it intends to invest approximately USD 21.2m in a production plant for bi-component fibres for hygiene applications in Rayong / Thailand. The 16,000 t/y project is expected to begin production by the second quarter of 2012, and is a technological collaboration with Japanese film and fibre producer Toyobo (Osaka; www.toyobo.co.jp/e).

The third project will involve the production of high quality bi-component yarns at IVL’s recently acquired site in Tangerang / Indonesia. A new plant with a 16,000 t/y capacity is expected to begin production in the first quarter of 2013. IVL said the bi-component yarns plant will use its single step process, which provides a competitive advantage over two step processes and has enabled the company to secure a leading market share in this segment. “The product is a speciality line that is very popular for outerwear and has unique properties of drape and touch,” Lohia remarked.

The company also reported healthy financial results for the first six months of 2011. EBITDA from core businesses, excluding inventory gains and losses, soared 93% to USD 339m compared with the same period last year. Sales were up 105% at USD 3.02bn.
“The current economic slowdown in the West did not impact sales and spreads because our business is part of the non-discretionary economy,” Lohia said. “IVL is closely linked to consumer staples and affordable products as PET is much lower in cost than glass and aluminium, while polyester fibres and yarns are more affordable compared with cotton.”
All of IVL’s business segments benefited from resilient demand in all parts of the world, he added.