On October 1st, 2011 , Basf and Ineos created officially a 50/50 joined venture called Styrolution to merge and promote all their Styrene activities.
As a result Styrolution is the only one of the key players dedicated entirely to styrenics, and a strong leader in the market. It holds global number one positions in styrene monomer (SM), polystyrene (PS), styrene-butadiene block copolymers (SBC), other styrene-based copolymers (SAN, AMSAN, ASA, MABS) and copolymer blends, and a number two position in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
Since Basf and Ineos have got the green light from Brussels authorities for this merger, Styrolution has announced a series of fast track projects:
- Ludwigshafen, Germany: Extension and upgrading the process control system of the Styrene copolymer facilities to improve the production flexibilty
- Uldsan, South Korea: Build a new 40 000 t/y Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA) plant
- Valdodara, India: Expansion to 110 000 t/y capacity of the Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) production unit
The completion of these capital expenditures are planned between 2013 and 2014.