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Shintech to build an integrated PVC plant in Louisiana

| By Mary Bailey

Shintech Inc., a subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo; www. shinetsu.co.jp) in the U.S., has begun to construct a new integrated plant to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from salt. The new plant will be on industrial site developed by Shintech, located next to Shintech’s existing plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana.

Shintech obtained permits to build a plant capable of producing 1.9 billion pounds (860,000 metric tons) per year of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), the raw material of PVC, and 660,000 m.t./yr of caustic soda, and has commenced construction of the first phase of the plan. The first phase will increase production capacity by 640 million pounds (290,000 m.t.) of PVC per year and 270,000 m.t. of caustic soda per year. The amount of this investment is expected to be $1.49 billion, which Shintech will fund by itself. Completion of the construction is targeted for the end of 2020. Annual production capacity after the completion of the first phase will be 7.14 billion pounds/yr (3,240,000 m.t./yr) of PVC and 1,570,000 m.t./yr of caustic soda.