7 August 2009 – The SIBUR’s subsidiary OJSC Orton has conducted a ceremonial launch of new flat geogrid (geonet) manufacture facility under the Aprolat trademark. Operation of this new plant will secure for the SIBUR 13% share in this market segment. The design capacity of the plant is 3 thousand tons per year.
Despite of economic difficulties, SIBUR has completed the investment project that will help it to reduce imports of construction materials and provide domestic consumers with competitive products.
From 1 May 2009 the Orton has shut down its textile enterprise operating at loss. The commissioning of new production will enable the former unprofitable business to generate a positive cash flow. According to current projections of the market situation, when the manufacture of flat geogrids achieves its design capacity, the annual proceeds of the plant will amount to at least RUR 400 billion.
“This is the first time in our corporate history that we redesign the whole enterprise by rejecting the non-remunerative manufacture of textiles in favor of highly demanded geosynthetic,” Dmitry Konov, SIBUR President said. “The road and pipeline builders have got an excellent opportunity to use comparatively cheaper domestic products made on modern equipment and matching the best world’s analogues.”
The training of Orton’s employees in operation of new equipment was provided concurrently with assembly of the geogrid production lines.
The similar geogrid (geonet) production lines with capacity of 3 thousand t per year will be put in operation in Fall at another SIBUR’s facility in Tula Region, the OJSC Plastic. Launch of geogrid manufacture at Plastic will help SIBUR to increase its market share in production of geosynthetic materials up to 20% and obtain a leading position in Russia. In 2010, Orton and Plastic are also planning to establish manufacture of polypropylene nonwoven geofabrics to use in construction of roads, oil & gas and civil facilities for improvement of their operating performance. The aggregate capacity of the lines purchased from Italian company O.R.V. Manufacturing S.p.A. will amount up to 20 thousand tons nonwoven fabrics per year. Upon commissioning of new geogrid and nonwoven material facilities, the Orton’s proceeds are expected to reach RUR 1.2 billion by 2012.
For more information, please visit SIBUR online: http://www.sibur.ru/eng/.
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SIBUR Expands Geosynthetics Production – August 2008
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