Ube, Lotte & Mitsubishi Form Venture To Produce Polybutadiene in Malaysia

:: 18 Mar  2013 ::

Johor- Ube Industries Ltd., Lotte Chemical Corp., Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Sdn Bhd and Mitsubishi Corp. have established Malaysian Synthetic Rubber Sdn Bhd as a new joint venture to produce and market polybutadiene rubber (BR) in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Ma-laysia.
  
Malaysia Synthetic Rubber will build a plant to pro-duce 50,000 t/y of BR using Ube's technology.  The venture plans an expansion to 72,000 t/y, as demand dictates.  Lotte Chemical Titan will supply butadiene feedstock for the new plant, which is scheduled to begin production in 2014.

Ube and Lotte Chemical Corp. each hold a 40% interest in Malaysia Synthetic Rubber, while Lotte Chemical Titan and Mitsubishi each hold a 10% stake.  The new venture is headed by Ki Young Hwang as president.

Ube, noting that it is seeking to further strengthen its presence in the growing Asian market, said this joint venture will enable the company to "fully leverage” the capacities of its four global BR production bases.  Ube has a 110,000-t/y plant in Chiba, Japan; a 72,000-t/y facility in China, and a 72,000-t/y plant in Thailand.  The Chiba BR plant will be expanded to 126,000 t/y later this year.

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