RIYADH — Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has further demonstrated its national growth commitment by opening its first engineering thermoplastics compounding facility as well as a new polypropylene compounding (PPc) plant, at its manufacturing affiliate, Saudi Specialty Chemicals Company, in Jubail. These new facilities in conjunction with initiatives like the National Industrial Cluster Development Program (NICDP) will help create jobs and act as a catalyst, generating new opportunities in downstream industries such as building and construction, automotive, electrical, healthcare and appliances. With the goal of enabling customers to further differentiate their products and brands from competition, these facilities will make it easier to access a diverse material offering, provide local options for custom color matching and provide the potential for shorter lead times. As a result, Sabic customers can continue to move forward to solve the ever-changing needs and challenges in their dynamic industries. “These new facilities allow Sabic to further enable its customers' success by providing them greater access to the diverse portfolio of unique products from Sabic's Innovative Plastics business, and helping them to deliver further differentiated solutions to the market. Both the engineering thermoplastics compounding and polypropylene investments bring Sabic closer to its customers in the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and India, enabling them to get to market faster,” said Mohamed Al-Mady, Sabic Vice Chairman and CEO. In the initial phase, the engineering thermoplastics compounding plant will produce Sabic's lexan, cycoloy, xenoy and valox resins. These are commonly used engineering thermoplastics spanning multiple industries from consumer electronics to healthcare, from transportation to building and construction. The PPc plant will produce glass, chalk and talc filled grades that will strengthen SABIC's global footprint and serve customers in auto and non-auto sectors.— SG
