Styrolution, the 50:50 styrenics joint venture of BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) and Ineos (Rolle / Switzerland; www.ineos.com), has reorganised its portfolio of products inherited from the two partners. The company that made its debut as a jv two years ago – see Plasteurope.com of 30.11.2010 – has “made a strategic decision” to reclassify and harmonise branding in order to offer customers a clear choice in product solutions and to reinforce its market position by focusing on core products, as vice president Styrenic specialties EMEA Rob Buntinx told Plasteurope.com during the "Fakuma" trade fair. Following the reorganisation the company intends to streamline its distribution network for its styrenic commodities.

The styrenics producer has developed two business models, Styrolution Specialty and Styrolution Standard. The first category includes clear and opaque copolymers and specialty ABS, which the company said are characterised by a high level of customisation and innovation and developed for specific market applications such as high-performance, pre-coloured solutions. The second encompasses commodities such as styrene monomer, polystyrene and standard ABS, “typically robust and highly versatile workhorse grades” for which customers expect competitive pricing and consistent quality with reliable supply delivery.

Starting on 1 January 2013, all polystyrene products will be rebranded as “Styrolution PS", replacing the “Polystyrol” and “Empera” trade names. Standard ABS will be marketed as “Terluran” while specialty ABS will be called “Novodur”, replacing the former “Terluran” and “Lustran” brands. All SAN products will be branded as “Luran”, replacing the former “Lustran SAN”. Finally, ABS and polyamide-based blends will be sold as “Terblend N”, with the name “Triax” to be dropped. Branding for the remaining specialty copolymers will remain unchanged, and there will be no changes to product grade nomenclature except for PS in Europe, the Middle East and Mexico, Styrolution said.