Plastics Division
A. History
The Plastics Division was previously the 2nd Chemical
Division. The 2nd Chemical Division was set up to take charge of some expansion
projects under Formosa Plastic’s No. 6 Cracking Project. At that time, it was
in charge of the planning and construction of AROMA and SM plants. When the
whole project was delayed due to problem of site selection, the Division
decided to go ahead first with the plant construction for polystyrene (PS),
downstream product of SM and market the product to facilitate the sales of
upstream product in the future.
The polystyrene plant was located inside the
Zhong Yang Industrial Zone at Hsin Kang, Chiayi. Completed in March 1991 with
annual capacity of 60,000 tons, the plant’s product has been well received in the market on the strength of
its quality. After successive debottleneck efforts, the plant now has annual
capacity of 140,000 tons and received ISO 9002 certification in April 1994.
In light that ABS resin (copolymer of
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), also a downstream product of styrene, is an
important plastic material with extensive applications, the Division embarked
on the construction of ABS plant in July 1993. The plant is also located in the
Zhong Yang Industrial Zone. Planned with annual capacity of 150,000 tons and
with process technology from JSR and TED of Japan, the ABS plant was completed
in May 1995 and underwent expansion in July 1996, which increased the capacity
to 250,000 tons a year. The plant also received ISO 9002 certification in
October 1996.
In 1998 as the plants
in charge by the Division under the No. 6 Cracking Project were completed and
in operation, FCFC decided to spin off the plastic business of the 2nd Chemical
Division by setting up a Plastics Division to facilitate product management.
In July 1999, a polypropylene plant
under construction was combined into the Plastics Division for marketing
purpose. The process technology for polypropylene came from CHISSO of Japan.
Located in the Mailiao compound with annual capacity of 300,000 tons, the plant
was completed and brought on stream in October 2000. We also built a 120,000
tons/year PS plant at Mailiao, boosting our total PS capacity to 260,000 tons a
year in combination with the 140,000 tons Hsin Kang plant. In the expansion of
ABS production line, we added a 120,000 tons/year line at Mailiao, bringing our
total ABS capacity to 370,000 tons a year in combination with the 250,000 tons
Hsin Kang plant.
In light of the
increasingly competitive market for plastic products, FCFC set up a joint
venture with Idemitsu of Japan, which engages in the sales of polycarbonate
(PC), while the Plastics Division takes charge of the production. The phase 1
production line for PC was completed in October 2002 with annual capacity of
50,000 tons. The phase 2 project, which will add another 50,000 tons of
capacity is slated for completion in April 2003, as the Division heads towards
the production of high-tech and high added-value products.
B. Major Businesses
The Plastics Division engages mainly in
the manufacture and sales of PS, ABS, SAN and PP, and includes PC in the
product lines in 2002. In 2002, we shipped 790,000 tons of products with sales
reaching NT$20 billion. With our vigorous marketing efforts and the advantage brought
about by the vertical integration under the No. 6 Cracking Project, we expect
to see continuous growth in business, and aspire to become a significant market
player who provides ample, inexpensive and quality materials and R&D
service to downstream plastic manufacturers to help them develop new products
and enhance the competitiveness of the plastic processing industry as a whole.