This week, Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in
the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, inaugurated its new
catalyst plant at the company's Linz location. The company poured as much as
EUR 100 million into this new facility which will produce catalysts – utilising the proprietary Borealis Sirius
catalyst technology.
Catalysts enable a precise alignment of plastics
properties with varying demands and requirements and help determine, among
other things, the hardness, plasticity and/or elasticity of end products. The
start-up of the plant will create 35 new jobs at the Linz location and
strengthen Borealis' position along the entire plastics value chain: from
research and development into and production of own catalysts, to
application-oriented development of innovative end products in close
co-operation with Borealis customers.
The opening of the new catalyst plant in Linz is a
central pillar of the growth strategy within the Borealis polyolefins business
segment. Since 2007, the company has already invested EUR 50 million in the development
of its Innovation Headquarters in Linz, inaugurated in 2009. The construction
of the catalyst plant involves an additional investment of EUR 100 million.
Upon commencement of full operations at the plant, 35 new employees will join
the existing 1,250 currently employed in Linz.
The opportunity to produce catalysts not only for the
company's own use, but also to continue to develop new and improved catalysts
is of prime importance for Borealis. Thanks to these high-performance catalysts, Borealis can
produce in such a way that conserves resources, because larger and
higher-quality volumes can be produced using less material. By-products are
avoided and specific energy requirements reduced. Thus overall, efficiency and sustainability
in chemical manufacturing processes are significantly increased. Construction of the new Borealis Sirius catalyst plant
was completed within only two years. With the promising opportunities in the global plastics market, we hope to see more big players invest into advanced production facilities that will generate high-performance products to serve the needs of the converters.
