The 60,000tpa capacity plant uses Toray’s polymerisation technology

BASF and Toray have announced the start-up of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) production by the 50% joint venture company Toray BASF PBT Resin at BASF’s site in Kuantan, Malaysia. The new plant, which has involved investment of E32m by the companies, has annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes and is said to use the most advanced polymerisation technology from Toray. The plant’s butanediol raw material feedstock is produced in the neighbouring BASF Petronas Chemicals plant in Kuantan.

The companies will separately market the PBT base resin from the plant under BASF’s Ultradur brand name and Toray’s Toraycon brand. BASF said the resin will also be supplied to its existing compounding plants in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and Ansan, Korea. Raimar Jahn, head of the Performance Polymers division at BASF, said: “With the production of PBT in Kuantan, we can react more quickly to our customers’ needs and can ensure a reliable supply of the product.”

Chiaki Tanaka, senior managing director of Toray Industries, said: “The new PBT plant completion leads to further customer satisfaction through both cost and quality competitiveness.”