Production is focused on three large European plants

The average production capacity of SolVin’s vinyl plants will be 30% higher than the sector’s average in Europe when plant extensions are completed this year, the joint venture has said. SolVin, which is 75% owned by Solvay and 25% by BASF, has invested nearly E50m to focus production on European sites whose capacity will each exceed 300,000tpa. This follows the closing, as planned, of its vinyl chloride monomer and PVC plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany, in January.

The company has been transferring operations previously carried out in Ludwigshafen to its sites at Martorell (Spain), Jemeppe-sur-Sambre (Belgium) and Rheinberg (Germany). Investment in these sites has included more competitive production technologies using larger autoclave units and various process improvements. Total annual production capacity will be 1.3 million tonnes of PVC.