The one name in the PVC industry that keeps being mentioned at the moment is Axiall (Atlanta, Georgia / USA; www.axiall.com). Now that the company has been acquired by competitor Westlake Chemical (Houston, Texas / USA; www.westlake.com) – as part of a mammoth USD 3.8 bn deal that was preceded by months of mudslinging (see Plasteurope.com of 15.06.2016) – it is proceeding with its ethane cracker joint venture in Lake Charles, Louisiana / USA.

The go-ahead for the hub, which Axiall will operate together with Lotte Group (Seoul / South Korea; www.lotte.co.kr), came in late December last year (see Plasteurope.com of 04.01.2016), and the companies’ LACC jv held the official groundbreaking ceremony on 14 June. Once the site starts up in early 2019, it will be capable of producing 1m t/y of ethylene. CB&I (The Woodlands, Texas / USA; www.cbi.com) has been awarded the contract for the main steam cracker, which will use its proprietary technology.

Lotte is also building an ethylene glycol plant next to the cracker, which is strategically located near Axiall’s chlor-alkali plant, giving it access to existing infrastructure, feedstocks and distribution networks.