Indorama in deal for fibre plant in Rayong

Aloke Lohia, CEO of the global polyester manufacturer, said the company’s board yesterday approved a 50:50 joint venture with a world-class manufacturer of non-woven fibre to set up the factory for bi-component fibre with 14,500 tonnes in annual capacity. It will be located at IVL’s manufacturing complex.
The board also approved the 10,800-tonne capacity expansion of its bi-component fibre factory owned by its subsidiary Fiber Visions Manufacturing CO in Covington, Georgia in the US.
The project will take annual capacity to 34,000 tonnes totally when it is completed in the fourth quarter of next year by reducing the bottleneck in the production process. It will speed up return on investment with the economic improvement of the factory.
Bi-component fibre has been used for non-woven hygiene products such as wet cleaning wipes and diapers to serve the demand for such products, which has increased dramatically in North America and Asia.
IVL’s sales in the first quarter of this year rose to US$1.9 billion (Bt56.6 billion) from $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter of last year after its polyester manufacturing capacity increased by about 1.42 million tonnes.
“This year, we have improved confidence in our operations throughout the world. We have received good feedback from the market and IVL is now in an advantageous position and is ready to benefit from the economic improvement in China, which has influence and an effect on the world,” Lohia said.
“Our greater profitability came from the growth of high value-added products, which will provide continuous support for the revenue growth of the company today and in the future. Our executives will proceed with the cost-cutting scheme for sales, aimed at increasing profit per share. We will also offer products with high safety and credibility to our customers,” he said.
IVL’s cash profit climbed to $83 million last quarter from $76 million in the previous quarter due to the recovery of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from its lowest level. However, the profitability of monoethylene glycol (MEG) declined, but is expected to recover to normal levels this quarter, due to its strong foundation.