Basell exits UHMW-PE, shutters U.S. LLDPE plant. (Your Business in Brief).

Basell Polyolefins, Wilmington, Del., is getting out of the UHMW-PE (ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene) business and is mothballing its Spherilene LLDPE plant in Lake Charles, La. The moves are part of an overall restructuring plan, with the company's focus now aimed at improving the efficiency of its two world-scale PP plants at the Lake Charles site.

Basell agreed to sell its UHMW-PE business to Brazil's Polialden Petroquimica SA of Sao Paulo, one of the leading UHMW-PE producers in the world and a major HDPE supplier in South America. Polialden's global UHMW-PE business will be managed from a new subsidiary to be established in Wilmington. The sale does not include Basell's UHMW-PE plant in Lake Charles, which will be closed by the end of this January

Meanwhile, Basell's Spherilene LLDPE plant in Lake Charles will be shut down at the end of March. Basell's only other Spherilene plant is a pilot facility in Ferrara, Italy, used for R&D. Globally, Basell has six licensees operating their own Spherilene plants. Even with Spherilene as only a licensing and R&D business, Basell will remain a leading supplier PE in Europe. It has a total capacity there of almost 5.35 billion lb/yr of mostly HDPE and LDPE. A French joint venture produces LLDPE, but not with Spherilene technology

Basell will also continue to supply PE in North America--e.g., Lupolen 4261AG HDPE for automotive fuel systems and intermediate bulk containers. It is made for Basell by ChevronPhillips Chemical. Basell also will import PE grades for crosslinked pipe and pharmaceutical packaging.