Shin Etsu Chemical : Shintech applies for ethylene plant construction permit

Shin-Etsu Chemical's U.S. subsidiary company Shintech Inc. (Chairman, Founder: Chihiro Kanagawa) has applied to the State of Louisiana Department of Environment Quality for a permit to build a new plant that will produce ethylene, which is one of the main raw materials for polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The permit application states that the ethylene production capacity of this new plant will be 500,000 tons/year. With regard to the location of the plant, land for industrial use that Shintech already owns will be a leading candidate for the site. Concurrently with carrying out the required processes to secure a building permit, Shintech will continue its feasibility study with regard to such matters as the amount to be invested for the contemplated plant construction project and the profitability of the project as well as the period of time that will be needed for the construction to be completed. After all of these matters are fully considered, a final decision will be made.

This plant construction permit application is one step in the implementation of Shintech's strategy to assure stable supply of ethylene for the manufacture of PVC.

In order to certainly capture the demand growth for PVC, which is used in a wide range of applications centered on infrastructure projects, Shintech has for some time been implementing its strategy of setting up an integrated PVC production system starting from its raw materials. Following its implementation of an in-house production system for chlorine, Shintech has been giving serious consideration to in-house production of ethylene to further strengthen its integrated PVC production system.