Kraton continues to strengthen position as SBC market leader

As the demand in Asia for styrenic block copolymer (SBC) products steadily rises, Kraton Polymers continues to make investments to support its position as a market leader in the SBC industry. Part of this commitment includes its joint venture with Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical, through which it is constructing a 30-kilotonne hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC) plant at Formosa Petrochemical's Mailiao site.

Today, more than 20 per cent of Kraton's revenue comes from important Asian markets, reflecting its diverse HSBC product offering and its one-of-a-kind Cariflex isoprene rubber and isoprene rubber latex products. The company's HSBC capacity expansion is expected to be mechanically complete in the fourth quarter of next year, with production and product sales expected in the first quarter of 2016.

"The plant will support continued growth in demand for Kraton's high-value HSBC products in Asian, North American and European markets," says Kevin Fogarty, president and CEO.

Additionally, Kraton's semi-works plant became operational in March. Its fit-for-purpose volume scale-up bridges the gap between laboratory and full-scale production, enhancing the company's ability to deliver customisable quantities of developmental polymers in record time. The facility, located within the company's existing Ohio manufacturing facility, is unparalleled in the SBC industry and will support Kraton's global innovation centres in Houston, Amsterdam and Shanghai.

Fogarty recognises that the most attractive growth area for Kraton in terms of competitive advantage and sustainability is through technologically driven development. "We probably spend more on R&D than the entire industry combined - over US$30 million a year," Fogarty says. "If customers have specific performance criteria they are trying to achieve, they come to us. We can design a polymer to an exact molecular weight to meet the specific needs of customers - and that is the heart of Kraton's technology."

Kraton was founded as part of Shell Chemicals in the 1950s and is the inventor of SBC chemistry. With more than 50 years of pioneering experience in performance-specific polymer design, the company is committed to continuous research and product development. With more than 800 customers in more than 60 countries, Kraton is the only company within the industry that manufactures SBCs across four continents - North America, South America, Europe and Asia.