BANGKOK - Indorama Ventures (IVL) has announced that construction of an integrated PTA-PET plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, will resume in August this year.
Corpus Christi Polymers (CCP), a partnership between three companies, is expected to begin production in 2025 and ensure continued cost-competitive production to support the growth of IVL’s global PET operations into the next decade.
CCP was formed in 2018 as a joint venture between Indorama Ventures Corpus Christi Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Indorama Ventures; DAK Americas LLC, a subsidiary of Alpek S.A.B. de C.V.; and APG Polytech USA Holdings, Inc, a subsidiary of Far Eastern New Century, following the purchase of a partially constructed facility of M&G Resins in Corpus Christi. Each partner will procure its own raw materials and receive one third of the PTA and PET produced at the facility to sell and distribute independently.
Construction of the plant is resuming following a period of pandemic-related disruptions. Through the pandemic, the partners continued planning amid continued robust demand for PET packaging and the need for shorter supply chains. As the impact of the pandemic eased in 2022, the management team was strengthened in preparation for the resumption in activities.
CCP is expected to be the largest vertically integrated PTA-PET production plant in the Americas, and IVL’s biggest greenfields project in the U.S. since the development of the AlphaPet production facility at Decatur, Alabama in 2009. The new Texas facility is a significant addition to IVL’s leading global footprint, and will expand its coverage to customers across the U.S. The plant’s vertical integration optimizes PTA-PET production and, together with the availability of raw materials Paraxylene and Mono Ethylene Glycol in the U.S., ensures long-term competitive-cost supply for IVL’s locally integrated polyester value chain.
The facility will have nominal annual capacities of 1.1 million metric tons of PET and 1.3 million metric tons of PTA, shared between the partners. It will employ three state-of-the-art technologies: PTA: IntegRex, PET melt: Invista, and PET solid state: Easy Up (HCIRR – Horizontal Continuous slightly Inclined Rotary Reactor).
“We welcome the resumption of construction at the Corpus Christi facility and look forward to working with our partners towards full production in 2025," said Sanjay Ahuja, executive president, Combined PET, Indorama Ventures. "As we moved past the pandemic’s peak, conditions improved to the point where our firm resolve can now be rewarded.”
Mr Muthukumar Paramasivam, Business Head – Integrated PET Americas, Indorama Ventures, added: “Our customers – many of them global household brands – are encouraged as the Corpus Christi facility adds significantly to our reach, and our U.S. coverage in particular. This is a further evidence of how IVL’s resilient integrated model and global footprint supports us through disruptions and allows us to come back even stronger.”
