Two leading players in the North American PET market, Voridian (Kingsport, Tennessee / USA; www.voridian.com), part of the Eastman group, and Wellman (Shrewsbury, New Jersey / USA; www.wellmaninc.com) have signed a long-term alliance for the North American market. By combining assets and adding capacity, the companies said they will “significantly expand PET resin supply at low capital costs to meet growing demand in the NAFTA region.” The plan will be implemented through expansion of production capacity and a strategic purchasing agreement.

Wellmann´s plant at Pearl River, Mississippi, in the US is to be expanded by the first quarter of 2004, bringing capacity there to 129,310 t/y. The expansion and the purchasing agreement will add 247,275 t/y of capacity to the North American PET resins market, the parties said. Wellman will bring into the alliance amorphous resin capacity from converted fibre chip lines at Palmetto, South Carolina in the US, while Voridian will supply solid-stating capacity from multiple North American sites. The resulting PET products will be marketed independently.