Dow to shut PET plant in Italy
31 Jan 2003
The Dow Chemical Company is to shut down its Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plant in Pisticci, Matera, Italy by the end of the first quarter 2003. The Pisticci workforce comprises some 70 employees.
'Due to the current unfavourable market conditions and global economic environment, which are not expected to recover sufficiently in the medium term, we are forced to concentrate on facilities around the globe that offer optimum efficiencies and world-scale capabilities,' said Flavio Terruzzi, Global Business Director PET/PTA.
The plant in Pisticci has a capacity to produce 60,000 MT of PET per annum, versus an average capacity of more than 150,000 MT at newer plants.
Terruzzi emphasised, however, that Dow remains firmly committed to the global PET business. 'With a total capacity of 280,000 MT, Dow remains a leading participant in this industry,' he commented.
Dow entered the PET and PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid) businesses in January 1996 by acquiring INCA International SpA and then building a PET production plant at its integrated site in Schkopau, Germany.
In addition to the Pisticci facility, which produces PET primarily for beverage packaging, INCA International also operates a PET/PTA production site in Ottana, Italy.
