Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Antioxidant Plant Jurong Island, Singapore

Singapore is becoming one of the largest and most diverse chemical hubs in the world. Nearly every major chemical and petrochemical company has a presence in Singapore and Ciba Specialty Chemicals Industries (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CibaSC) is no exception, having been in the country for 34 years.

The new plant will increase CibaSC's manufacturing base in Asia, which gave the company 29% of its sales in 2005.

Ciba produces additives for polymers, coatings and lubricants, and is building a world-scale plant for the production on antioxidants on a site in Jurong Island.

The new plant will produce a range of antioxidants for incorporation into polymers across the Asian and Middle Eastern markets; this is significant as global polymer demand continues to increase.

Groundbreaking for the new plant occurred in March 2006 and the new plant is expected to be on-stream by the spring of 2008.

INVESTMENT

The investment for the new plant is around CHF125m ($100m). This plant is one of the first new chemical investments on Tembusu, which is a newly developed part of Jurong Island. The new plant will employ 65 workers.

Armin Meyer, chairman and CEO of Ciba Specialty Chemicals, commented: "The new plant, which is to serve the fast-growing demand of plastic manufacturers in Asia and the Middle East, at a central location with state-of-the-art and cost-efficient production, will further secure Ciba's position as a leading global supplier of plastic additives."

CONTRACTORS

The company contracted to construct the new plant was Jacobs Engineering Group Inc, who will provide engineering, procurement, and construction management services for the new antioxidant manufacturing facility.

The new plant will have a capacity of 30,000t per annum and will be based on fully automated processes with the latest synthesis technology. The new plant will include the process structure, a tank farm, a service building, utilities, and related infrastructure and site development.

PRODUCTS

The plant will produce granular forms and blends of the Ciba antioxidant range including Ciba® IRGANOX® 1010 (Octadecy13,5-Di-(tert)-butyl-4-Hydroxyhydrocinnamate) and Ciba® IRGAFOS® 168 (tris(2,4-ditert-butylphenyl)phosphite).

IRGAFOS is a hydrolytically stable phosphite processing stabiliser and a secondary antioxidant in polymer manufacture. It gives protection against colour changes and degradation due to excessive exposure to heat.

Ciba has made other inroads into the Asian market by making an agreement with LG Chem, one of the largest chemical companies in Korea.

The agreement means that Ciba has ownership of the Hisorb plastic stabiliser range in Korea, as well as a long-term supply agreement.