Olin Corp. (Clayton, Mo.) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) announced a global strategic alliance to better serve customers. The companies have agreed to a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture that brings together Mitsui’s top-notch global logistics, deep supplier and customer relationships, and breadth of product portfolio with Olin’s scale, North American export capability, and production flexibility across the electrochemical unit (ECU) portfolio.
The joint venture will be an independent global buyer, supplier, and marketer of ECU-based derivatives, initially focused on globally traded (blue water) caustic soda and ethylene dichloride (EDC) with potential future expansion into other ECU derivatives and related products. By combining the complementary geographic and functional strengths of Olin and Mitsui, the joint venture will enable customers to benefit from greater security of supply, enhanced logistics reliability, increased access to global product liquidity, and network optimization to support the decarbonization agenda.
The parties expect to commence the joint venture later this year, subject to agreement of definitive terms and applicable regulatory approvals.
Scott Sutton, Chairman, President & CEO of Olin commented “Olin’s 130-year history in ECUs and Mitsui’s 70-year history in trading and logistics creates a natural partnership that will grow Olin’s parlay activities and grow Mitsui’s capacity to serve on a global scale. This innovative alliance will connect Olin’s leading asset positions with global product liquidity to reliably meet growing demand in increasingly sustainable ways. Through this alliance, Olin is committed to delivering strategic, sustainable solutions across the value chain.”
Takashi Furutani, Chief Operating Officer of Basic Materials Business Unit, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. said “It is an exciting challenge to establish a new joint venture which will operate independently from both parent companies and contribute to the sustainable development of the industry. The joint venture aims to bring value to the industry through optimizing and streamlining the sourcing, supplying, and marketing of ECU-based derivatives. The joint venture also intends to help accelerate the industrial decarbonization effort by enhancing its capabilities and network.”