Shintech Louisiana LLC, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.’s US subsidiary Shintech Inc., Houston, will invest $1.49 billion to develop a chloralkali and vinyl chloride monomer production plant and expand an existing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing site in Plaquemine, La.
Through the project, Shintech will create 120 new direct jobs with an average annual salary of more than $81,800 plus benefits, with another estimated 590 new indirect jobs to result from the investment in Louisiana’s Iberville and surrounding parishes for a total of more than 700 new jobs, the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) said on July 24.
The expansion will include development of an integrated PVC manufacturing site that is scheduled to be completed in late 2020 and become operational in early 2021.
Shintech—which previously obtained permits to build a plant capable of producing 860,000 tonnes/year of vinyl chloride monomer (the raw material of PVC) and 660,000 tpy of caustic soda—already has started construction of project’s first phase that will increase PVC production capacity by 290,000 tpy and caustic soda production by 270,000 tpy, Shin-Etsu Chemical said in a separate release.
Once completed, the initial phase of the project will increase Shintech’s PVC production capacity to 3.24 million tpy and caustic soda production capacity to 1.57 million tpy, according to its parent company.
The proposed expansion comes as part of Shintech’s plan to keep pace with the market as global demand for PVC—used in a variety of applications in the building and construction, healthcare, electronics, automobile, and other sectors—continues to grow, as well as the company’s aim to increase its manufacturing presence in the North American market, according to LED.
“We are pleased to proceed with this project and are going to carry out the construction at full throttle,” said Yasuhiko Saitoh, Shin-Etsu Chemical’s president and director, adding that the investment builds on the company’s local and global sales capabilities and aligns with its long-range plan to leverage its economy of scale in the US for production of PVC and caustic soda.
Shintech and its affiliates will retain 500 existing direct jobs at the West Baton Rouge and Iberville parish manufacturing sites where the company has operated since 1999, LED said.
When this new project is in place, Shintech will have invested a total of $6 billion since arriving in Louisiana to deliver the largest integrated complex in the US for producing PVC, vinyl chloride monomer, and chloralkali, according to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Details regarding associated capacities involved in the planned expansion were not disclosed.
State incentives
To secure the project, the state of Louisiana offered a competitive incentive package that includes the comprehensive solutions of LED FastStart state workforce training program, said LED, which began discussions with Shintech about the potential expansion in fourth-quarter of 2016.
Additionally, the operator will qualify for a $1.5-million modernization tax credit to be provided in equal installments over a 5-year period, as well as have access to Louisiana’s Quality Jobs and industrial tax exemption programs, according to LED.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
