Trinseo Sells Share in PC JV to Partner Sumitomo

Styrenics producer Trinseo, formerly known as Styron and once part of Dow Chemical, has agreed to sell its 50% share of Sumika Styron Polycarbonate (SSPC) to joint venture partner Sumitomo Chemical. Financial terms have not been released but the transaction is expected to close on Jan. 31 when SSPC will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo. It will, however, be renamed Sumika Polycarbonate after a period of transition.

The 50:50 jv produces approximately 75,000 t/y of PC resins in Niihama City, Ehime, Japan, serving customers and markets throughout Asia. Both companies have agreed to maintain their strategic relationship with Sumitomo continuing to supply PC resin to Trinseo’s Performance Plastics businesses under a long-term arrangement.

Tim Stedman, senior vice president and business president for basic plastics and feedstocks at Trinseo, said Sumitomo Chemical is better positioned to manage and deliver value from the Japanese PC plant. “At the same time, Asia-Pacific continues to be an important growth region for Trinseo and the company is strongly committed to growing our performance businesses in the region,” he added.

Sumitomo Chemical’s director and senior managing executive officer, Tomohisa Ohno, said the company will explore opportunities to further expand the PC business by leveraging the technical capabilities it has developed over a long time.

SSPC was originally formed with Dow Chemical as Dow Sumitomo in 1996. After becoming an independent company in 2010, Styron assumed Dow’s 50% ownership and renamed the jv Sumika Styron Polycarbonate.