US conglomerate Koch Industries (Wichita, Kansas; www.kochind.com) has announced changes at two of its Wichita-based companies: at the beginning of 2022, it plans to transfer control of production facilities for propylene (PDH, 650,000 t/y) and polypropylene (350,000 t/y) in Houston and Longview, Texas, from its unit Flint Hills Resources (FHR, Wichita, Kansas; www.fhr.com) to its polyamide subsidiary Invista (Wichita, Kansas; www.invista.com). A spokesperson confirmed the move to Plasteurope.com.

In contrast, a propylene production facility at the Texan refinery complex in Corpus Christi (FCC, 205,000 t/y) is to remain with Flint Hills. In addition to fuels, this facility produces numerous products from the aromatic line, such as benzene, toluene, PX and cumene.

Pipelines associated with the affected assets are also to go to Invista, but that company’s CEO, Jeff Gentry, said they will continue to be operated by FHR. No information was available on whether the transaction would potentially also switch Invista’s PA 6.6 production from the butadiene line to propylene.

Several corporations have recently announced plans to exit PA operations, including DSM, Dupont and Lanxess (see Plasteurope.com of 22.09.2021, 03.11.2021 and 11.11.2021). It is unclear whether a sale could also be in the works for Invista after the restructuring.

In addition to Flint Hills and Invista, Koch Industries – which reported over USD 110 bn in revenue in 2019 – owns a range of companies in the US, including glass manufacturer Guardian, pulp and paper giant Georgia Pacific, and electronics producer Molex.