Shintech, US subsidiary of leading Japanese PVC manufacturer Shin-Etsu Chemical (Tokyo; www.shinetsu.co.jp), has finalised its plans for a 500,000 t/y ethylene cracker to be located in Plaquemine, Louisiana / USA – for previous coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 28.04.2014. The company is investing about USD 1.4 bn in the facility, construction of which is set to begin in Q2 this year, with start-up expected sometime in H1 2018. Construction works will be carried out mostly by Toyo Engineering (Tokyo / Japan; www.toyo-eng.com), while the ethylene process technology will be provided by Lummus, a subsidiary of engineering, procurement and construction specialist CB&I (The Woodlands, Texas / USA; www.cbi.com).

The cracker will not only improve Shintech’s feedstock supply, but will also strengthen its integrated PVC production. The company also operates PVC, VCM and caustic soda facilities in Louisiana, and is reportedly nearing completion of an expansion of all the latter. Plasteurope.com’s Polyglobe capacity database (www.polyglobe.net) shows that Plaquemine's PVC output alone will be raised by 300,000 t/y.