Borealis AG

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Borealis AG

logo
legal form Corporation
founding 1994
Seat Vienna , AustriaAustriaAustria 
management Alfred Stern, Chief Executive (CEO)
Number of employees 6,900
sales 8.1 billion euros (2019)
Branch Plastics and basic chemicals
Website www.borealisgroup.com

Borealis AG , based in Vienna, is an Austrian plastics manufacturer ; As the second largest manufacturer of polyolefins in Europe, it is one of the market leaders in the petrochemical industry .

Companies

Borealis is a global provider of solutions in the areas of polyolefins , basic chemicals and plant nutrients . Borealis is headquartered in Vienna , Austria, and employs around 6,900 people in more than 120 countries. Together with Borouge, a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Borealis supplies products and services to customers around the world. The main business takes place primarily in Europe, industrial plants are located in Austria, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Brazil, the Netherlands and the USA.

In 2019, the Borealis Group achieved sales of EUR 8.1 billion and a net profit of around EUR 872 million.

Borealis innovation

Borealis employs over 500 people in research and development. There are two research centers in Sweden and Finland, as well as the European Innovation Headquarters in Linz , Austria. In the latter, 300 experts from 30 different nations work on the implementation of new ideas. In 2019, the company filed a total of 179 patents in Austria.

History of the company

Borealis was founded in 1994 by merging the petrochemical businesses of Neste Oil (Finland) and Statoil (Norway) in Copenhagen. The name clearly refers to Northern Europe (Latin for "north"). In 1998, OMV's PCD petrochemicals division was brought into Borealis; OMV and IPIC took over the 50% stake in Borealis from Neste Oil. In 2005, Statoil also left Borealis. The company headquarters was relocated from Copenhagen to Vienna in June 2006 . At the beginning of 2017, the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) from Abu Dhabi and Mubadala merged . As a result, Borealis is 64% owned by Mubadala, through its affiliate, and 36% by OMV , an international, integrated oil and gas company with activities in the upstream and downstream sectors.

In 2020, Borealis announced a new corporate strategy based on its core values ​​and capabilities to achieve sustainable growth. The cornerstones of the strategy include moving towards a circular economy and creating a more customer-oriented organization. Implementation of the strategy will strengthen Borealis' position in the industry.

Products and customer segments

The polyolefin products manufactured by Borealis form the basis for many plastic applications that are an integral part of everyday life. Borealis products play a role in saving energy along the value chain and promoting more efficient use of natural resources and have applications in a wide variety of industries:

  • Consumer Products: Borealis supplies high quality polyolefin plastics for consumer products, advanced packaging and fibers. Borealis' polyolefins are used in particular for applications in flexible packaging (including blown film, heat seal and extrusion coatings), rigid packaging (caps and closures, bottles, thin-walled packaging, thermoforming), nonwovens and technical fibers, and equipment.
  • Automotive industry : Borealis also supplies polyolefins for technical applications in the automotive industry. Plastics are replacing conventional materials such as metal, rubber and engineering plastics. In automotive applications, Borealis polyolefins are used in a variety of exterior, interior and under-hood applications, including bumpers, body panels, panels, dashboards, door panels, air conditioning and cooling systems, air intake manifolds and battery housings.
  • Energy : The company offers high, high and medium voltage cables as well as semiconducting products for energy transmission and distribution as well as data and communication cables for building and vehicle cables.
  • Pipes : Borealis offers pipe solutions for water and gas supply, sanitation, heating and solutions for the oil and gas industry, including multi-layer coating solutions for onshore and offshore oil and gas pipelines.
  • New business development : The company develops products and solutions in the areas of healthcare, plastomers and foamable materials.
  • Base Chemicals : At Borealis, base chemicals are a solid foundation to build on. Borealis produces a wide range of basic chemicals such as melamine, phenol, acetone, ethylene and propylene for use in a wide variety of industries. In addition, the company also produces fertilizers and technical nitrogen products.
  • Hydrocarbons & Energy : Borealis sources basic raw materials such as naphtha, butane, propane and ethane from the international oil and gas markets and converts them into ethylene, propylene and cracker by-products through its hydrocarbon plants.
  • Melamine : Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI) was consolidated into Borealis in 2007 and renamed Borealis Agrolinz Melamine GmbH. Agrolinz supplies melamine (for sealing floors and furniture) and fertilizers. Borealis produces melamine in its plants in Linz and in Piesteritz, Germany. Obtained by converting urea, melamine is an essential material for the global production of synthetic resin.
  • Fertilizers : Borealis delivers over five million tons of fertilizers and technical nitrogen products annually through its Borealis LAT distribution network. Borealis LAT has 60 warehouses in Europe and a storage capacity of over 700 kilotons. The sales network extends from the head office in Linz along the Rhine and Danube to the Black Sea. There are branches all over Europe: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria. Borealis operates fertilizer production facilities in Austria, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. In France, Borealis is the largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers with three production sites in Grand-Quevilly, Grandpuits and Ottmarsheim and a warehouse in La Rochelle. The Borealis locations are in the heart of important grain growing areas. In 2013 Borealis acquired a majority stake in Rosier SA, a mineral fertilizer manufacturer with plants in Belgium and the Netherlands. Borealis holds a 77.4% stake in Rosier.

technology

Borealis has an extensive technology portfolio that extends from the catalyst (Borealis Sirius Catalyst Technology) through the process (Borstar) to the product and application (Borlink). The company develops solutions that are tailored to the end application. The design process always begins with understanding and interpreting the needs of the entire value chain from the polymer to the end user. Borstar is a technology protected by Borealis for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). In combination with the Borealis catalyst technology, Borstar supports the manufacture of a wide range of improved PE and PP products through the possibility of molecular design.

Borouge

Borealis founded the Borouge joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) . Borouge acts as the exclusive supplier of the entire Borealis product range in Asia and the Middle East. In the industrial plant Ruwais , Abu Dhabi , which opened in October 2002, Borstar polyethylene products for the infrastructure, automotive industry and high-quality packaging materials are manufactured. The Borouge 1 plant operates crackers with an output of 600,000 tons per year as well as two Borstar polyethylene plants with an annual production volume of 600,000 tons. In 2010, the Borouge 2 project tripled the polyolefin production capacity at the Ruwais site. The investment of 4.5 billion US dollars in an additional cracker, a third polyethylene plant and two new polypropylene units led to an increase in output to a total of 2 million tons per year. With the Borouge 3 plant expansion in Abu Dhabi, Borouge became the largest integrated polyolefin complex in the world. Since reaching full operation in 2016, Borouge 3 can provide an additional capacity of 2.5 million tons, increasing Borouge's total capacity to 4.5 million tons. Borealis and Borouge have a combined capacity of around 8 million tons of polyolefins. The pre-FEED phase has now been reached for the construction of the Borouge 4 complex, which is expected to go into operation in 2023. Borouge 4 comprises a world-scale mixed feedstock cracker utilizing existing raw material sources in Abu Dhabi as well as downstream derivative plants for polyolefin and non-polyolefin products.Template: future / in 3 years

Others

In March 2014 it became publicly known that at least in 2010 in Lower Austria an as yet unknown amount of plastic raw material from the sewer system of a Borealis plant - whose separation system was, according to the company, inadequately constructed - had entered the Danube via Schwechat . The incident was not reported to the public at the time, and the results of an investigation commissioned by the company in 2010 were not made available.

In 2015, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW) and the Austrian plastics industry launched the “Zero Pellets Loss Initiative”. In March 2015, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) published a first study on the occurrence of plastic particles in the Danube on behalf of the BMLFUW and the federal states of Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Vienna.

The study "Plastic in the Danube" is the first study based on a systematic investigation of the flowing wave of a river. The investigations showed that in Austria, depending on the water level, between 25 and 145 kg of plastic (larger than 0.5 mm) enter the Danube every day. The majority of this amount comes from so-called "diffuse inputs" (waste from wind transport or runoff); according to the Federal Environment Agency, a maximum of 10% is operational inputs. According to the Federal Environment Agency, a maximum of one percent of the plastic pellets found at the Hainburg measuring point in the Danube can be attributed to Borealis.

The companies participating in the “Zero Pellet Loss” initiative produce and process around 2 million tons of plastic together. According to an implementation report by the Association of the Austrian Chemical Industry (FCIO), which was published in June 2016, the loss of plastic particles could be reduced from 4.9 kg per day to less than 1 kg per day. By installing better filters in the sewage systems, defining more precise cleaning guidelines and training the employees, risks in the area of ​​“pellet loss” at Borealis have been reduced and almost eliminated.

Commitment to circular economy and plastic recycling

EverMinds

EverMinds is a platform created by Borealis that brings stakeholders together to continuously develop innovative technologies and products. The focus is on the circularity of plastics. This is in line with Borealis' goal to ensure that 100 percent of consumer products are recyclable, reusable or made from renewable sources by 2025.


Acquisition of mtm In July 2016, Borealis reinforced its commitment to circular economy and plastics recycling by acquiring one of the largest European manufacturers of post-consumer polyolefin recyclates - mtm plastics GmbH and mtm compact GmbH. Borealis is building on mtm's recycling process knowledge in order to significantly expand the scope of recycling solutions in the Borealis Group's range over the next few years. The company is currently investing 15 million euros in the expansion of mtm. As a European technology leader, mtm is able to further process PO post-consumer plastic waste (including mixed and poor quality) and converts around 70,000 tons of this raw material into high-quality recyclates every year. mtm uses mixed packaging, bulky household and industrial waste as raw materials. The recyclates from mtm are mainly used in injection molding and extrusion processes. Typical applications: containers and transport packaging, household goods, products for the construction sector or lawn grids.

Takeover of Ecoplast
In August 2018, Borealis announced the takeover of 100% of the shares in Ecoplast Kunststoffrecycling GmbH, an Austrian plastics recycling company. Ecoplast, based in Wildon, Austria, processes around 35,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste from households and industrial consumers every year and converts it into high-quality LDPE and HDPE recyclates.

STOP project in Indonesia
As the main sponsor, Borealis has taken over and secured the majority of the financing for the “STOP Ocean Plastics” project. The STOP project is a joint initiative with SYSTEMIQ and Sustainable Waste Indonesia. In cooperation with city governments, this works out targeted initiatives to prevent plastics from entering the oceans. Plastics recycling is to be expanded and comprehensive system changes are to be promoted, which are necessary for the realization of a plastics recycling economy. Project STOP's city partnerships include Muncar and Pasuruan in Indonesia and Jembrana in Bali.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Polyolefins | Base Chemicals | Fertilizers - Borealis. Retrieved March 17, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ Borealis: Sales and profits are falling somewhat. Retrieved March 12, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Profit at Borealis down slightly - lower prices for polyolefin. March 3, 2020, accessed March 12, 2020 .
  4. ↑ With plastic for the circular economy , derstandard.at, last accessed on September 13, 2018.
  5. ↑ Austrian record for patents in Europe. Retrieved March 12, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Tom Walker: Borealis Delivers Strong Financial Results Despite Softening Market Environment. February 28, 2020, accessed March 12, 2020 (UK English).
  7. ↑ borealisgroup.com , borealisgroup.com, last accessed September 13, 2018.
  8. ^ Innovation Technologies - Borealis. Retrieved March 12, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Borealis delivers an extraordinary record result with a net profit of EUR 988 million in 2015 ( Memento from October 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), borealisgroup.com (February 24, 2017), accessed on April 7, 2017.
  10. ↑ k-zeitung.de , k-zeitung.de, accessed on September 13, 2018.
  11. ↑ Group directed plastic to the Danube , diepresse.com (March 30, 2014), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  12. ^ Allegations against Borealis over plastic waste , salzburg.com (March 29, 2014), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  13. ↑ a b 10-point program of measures against plastic in bodies of water , Umweltbundesamt.at, last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  14. ^ Plastic in the Danube - first results of an ongoing study , bmlfuw.gv.at (May 19, 2015), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  15. ^ A b Plastic particles: Industry "not the problem" , chemiereport.at (March 12, 2015), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  16. ↑ Pilot study on plastic in the Danube , bmlfuw.gv.at (September 14, 2015), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  17. ↑ Joint solutions for a plastic-free environment , Umweltbundesamt.at (June 6, 2016), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  18. ↑ Success for the “Zero Pellet Loss” pact , chemiereport.at (June 6, 2016), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  19. ↑ Federal Minister Rupprechter / EU Environment Commissioner Vella: Joint solutions for a plastic-free environment , bmlfuw.gv.at (June 3, 2016), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  20. ↑ One year “Zero Pellet Loss” initiative in Austria shows success , recyclingportal.eu (June 14, 2016), last accessed on April 7, 2017.
  21. ↑ Borealis' platform EverMinds ™ takes a further step with new recycling technology and improved recyclates to strengthen the circularity of the plastics industry. Retrieved March 12, 2020 .
  22. ↑ chemietechnik.de , chemietechnik.de, last accessed on September 13, 2018.
  23. ↑ trend.at , trend.at, last accessed on September 13, 2018.
  24. ↑ canplastics.com , canplastics.com, last accessed September 13, 2018.
  25. ↑ Our Approach. In: Project STOP. Retrieved March 12, 2020 (UK English).

Coordinates: 48 ° 14 ′ 4.7 "  N , 16 ° 25 ′ 14.5"  E