Borealis
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| Type | Public Limited |
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| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria |
| Key people | Mark Garrett, CEO |
| Products | polyolefins, hydrocarbons, base chemicals |
| Revenue |  EUR 6,269 million (2010) |
| Employees | 5,100 (2010) |
| Website | www.borealisgroup.com |
Borealis AG is Europe's second largest producer of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
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[edit] Overview
Borealis AG is an international company in producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) solutions for the infrastructure, automotive and advanced packaging market sectors. Its plastics are converted by customers into products such as food packaging, medical devices, diapers, energy and communication cables, water and sanitation distribution pipes and automotive parts.
With EUR 333 million net profit in 2010 and 5,100 employees, Borealis is headquartered in Vienna and operates primarily in Europe, with manufacturing operations in Belgium, Central Europe (Austria and Germany), Finland and Sweden. It also operates compounding units in Brazil, Italy and the USA, two innovation centres (Sweden and Finland), the European Innovation Headquarters in Linz, Austria, as well as customer service centres located worldwide.
Though Borealis’ core products are polyolefins, the collective name for PE and PP, it also produces hydrocarbons, namely ethylene, propylene, and phenol. With the acquisition of Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI), the company is expanding its product portfolio to include melamine and fertilizer.
[edit] History
Borealis was founded in 1994 by the merging of Neste and Statoil. In 1998 the petro chemistry sector of OMV was included; OMV and IPIC took over the 50 % business share of Neste. In 2005 Statoil gave up its share of Borealis and one year later, in June 2006, the headquarter was relocated from Copenhagen to Vienna.
Borealis is owned 64% by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and 36% by OMV, the Austrian oil and natural gas group.
[edit] Key markets
[edit] Infrastructure
[edit] Pipe systems
Together with its joint venture Borouge, Borealis is the leading global supplier of advanced polyolefin plastics solutions for the pipe industry. Applications cover water and gas distribution, waste and sewage disposal, chemical and industrial projects, in-house plumbing and heating as well as oil & gas exploration and transport.
[edit] Energy and communication cables
As a leading provider of polyolefin compounds for the global wire and cable industry, Borealis solutions are widely used in low, medium, high and extra-high voltage energy transmission and distribution cables, in data and communication cables and in building and automotive wires.
[edit] Automotive
Borealis provides a wide range of plastics solutions to the automotive industry that are used for dashboards, door side claddings, front ends, air vent systems, bumpers under the bonnet and under-body shieldings. These solutions are at the leading edge in areas such as zero gap applications for bumpers, off-line painted body panels and scratch resistant materials for car interiors and exteriors.
[edit] Advanced packaging
Borealis polyolefins are used for applications such as healthcare, heavy duty shipment sacks, food packaging, flexible and rigid transport packaging, bottles, crates, boxes, trays and pallets.
[edit] Base Chemicals
[edit] Phenol and acetone
Phenol and acetone are produced at Borealis' facility located in Finland and are sold mainly to the adhesive, fibre, epoxy resin and polycarbonate industries in northern Europe. Phenol is used in adhesives, construction materials, carpets, CDs, DVDs, mobile phones and household appliances. Acetone is commonly used in solvents for paints, acrylics, fibres and pharmaceuticals.
[edit] Melamine and Fertilizer
Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI) was consolidated into Borealis in 2007 and renamed Borealis Agrolinz Melamine GmbH. This new partnership will allow Borealis to diversify its product offering to include the melamine and fertilizer business markets. Agrolinz, an international provider of melamine (used to treat flooring and furniture for resistance to wear and tear) and fertilizer, is the melamine market leader in Europe. With its daughter company Linzer Agro Trade, Borealis operates its own wholesaling business with a focus on the Danube region where Borealis is a leading provider of fertilizer.
[edit] Borstar proprietary technology
The company uses its proprietary Borstar technology to design molecular structured materials to meet customers’ specific needs. Borstar PE and PP capacity expansion in both Europe and the Middle East is a core ingredient of the company’s strategy.
[edit] Joint venture Borouge
Borouge is Borealis’ joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Its facility in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi (UAE) produces Borstar PE products for the infrastructure (pipe, wire and cable), automotive and advanced packaging markets. Borouge is the exclusive provider of the entire Borealis product line throughout the Middle East and Asia.
Officially opened in October 2002, this production facility is home to the first Borstar facility in the Middle East and Asia and hosts a 600,000 t/y cracker as well as two Borstar bimodal PE lines that produce up to 600,000 t/y.
In 2010, under the project name of Borouge 2, Borouge tripled the polyolefins manufacturing capacity of the plant in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi to 2 million tonnes per year. The US$ 4.5 billion investment includes an additional ethane cracker, a third polyethylene unit and two new polypropylene units.
With the Borouge 3 project, the company is expanding its petrochemical plant at Ruwais in Abu Dhabi to 4.5 million tonnes per year (t/y) by mid 2014.
Additional investments in logistics hubs and compounding manufacturing plants in Asia serve Borouge’s customers in the growing local markets.
