Page 41 - Plastics News December 2016
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SPI's changes to new name Idemitsu-Mitsui JV plans to
and look expand LPG use at naphtha
cracker
One of the plastics industry’s largest trade associations,
the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., is renaming Japan's Idemitsu Kosan, in its joint venture with
itself the Plastics Industry Association and rebranding Mitsui Chemicals, plans to conduct work to
itself with a new logo and new look. The change from the expand the processing of propane at Idemitsu's
familiar SPI reflects the group’s desire to better represent naphtha cracker to take advantage of cheap liquefied
the size and importance of the industry, particularly when petroleum gas (LPG) prices, according to Reuters. The
dealing with government, the general public and other work will be carried out next autumn and last about a
non-industry audiences, said Bill Carteaux, president and month, during which time the cracker will be shut, a
CEO of the Washington-based association. The changes company spokeswoman said. The upgrade will boost
include a new website design for the group, which may the cracker's capacity to process propane as feedstock
be most widely known in the industry for running the NPE by three or four times, said Hideki Gotoh, deputy
trade show.“We are the third-largest manufacturing sector general manager of Idemitsu's petrochemical business.
and we want to represent it as such,” he said. “We talk He declined to give the current capacity. He added that
to such a broad audience inside and outside the industry Idemitsu would pay the costs for the upgrade, without
today.”The plastics industry employs nearly 1 million giving a figure. The benefit from boosting propane and
people in the U.S. and is a $418 billion industry in the cutting naphtha as feedstock is set to lead to cost
U.S. alone, the association said. “When I or our advocacy cuts of around 1 billion yen (US$8.90 mln) a year. The
team goes to Capitol Hill, we’re known on the Hill as cracker will take advantage of its location next to
plastics,” he said. “I don’t say I’m with SPI. I say I’m with the LPG import facility in Idemitsu's Chiba refinery. It
plastics.” The group will refer to itself either by its full will mainly rely on LPG imports for feedstock rather
name or with the word PLASTICS, in all capital letters, but than a small quantity of LPG produced at the plant,
does not want to be called PIA. “I’m a huge person about officials said. The cracker is separately scheduled to
branding — we do not want to become acronymized,” he undergo planned maintenance next spring, company
said, adding that staff of the association plan to politely sources said. Idemitsu and Mitsui Chemicals set up
correct people if they refer to the association as PIA. the 50:50 venture in 2010 to jointly operate their
The association said its new logo is designed to represent naphtha crackers in Chiba, east of Tokyo, to save on
collaboration between the six facets of the industry costs. Idemitsu has a naphtha cracker adjacent to its
supply chain — brand owners, equipment manufacturers, Chiba refinery with capacity to produce 414,000 tpa
material suppliers, moldmakers, processors and recyclers. of ethylene, while Mitsui has one with a capacity of
The group had most recently been calling itself “SPI: 612,000 tpa
The Plastics Industry Trade Association,” incorporating
its original name of the Society of the Plastics Industry,
Inc., dating back to its founding in 1937.
41 • December 2016 • Plastics News
