Rubber Journal Asia Corporate Profile
Growing alongside the synthetic rubber market already surpassed those of its home base of Taiwan. Said President/CEO of TSRC, Tu Wei-Hua, “Around 60-70% of our SBR and BR outputs are exported to Asia. Over the years, we have been actively expanding our overseas business and the supply network is well built. Despite the stalled economic growth in European and American countries, the emerging markets in Asia have The company’s President been developing rapidly.” Tu Wei-Hua says TSRC In terms of ESBR, it has a has finally created a new production capacity of 100,000 global channel tonnes/year at its Kaohsiung plant in Taiwan while a Chinese joint venture between Japan-based Marubeni and Nantong Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, ShenHua Chemical Industrial, produces 180,000 tonnes/ year in China. To meet the growing demands of clients and to increase its competitiveness in the Asia Pacific market, TSRC has aggressively built up its supply network in China. For example, TSRC-UBE (Nantong) Chemical Industrial, a joint venture of TSRC, Japanese UBE Industries and Marubeni based in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, is increasing its capacity from 50,000 to 72,000 tonnes by this year. In terms of BR, it has a 60,000-tonne/year plant in Kaohsiung while a joint venture in Thailand, Thai Synthetic Rubber, with Japanese firms UBE Industries and Marubeni, offers an additional output of 72,000 tonnes/year. Meanwhile, recognising the double-digit growth expected for NBR in China, TSRC has co-invested in a US$50 million Chinese joint venture with German chemicals firm Lanxess. Situated in Nantong, the plant is expected to start up in the second quarter of 2012 with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes/year of NBR. TSRC has also been firming up its market entry into India. Last year, together with Marubeni and Indian Oil, it inked a partnership to form Indian Synthetic Rubber, which has already started work on the 120,000 tonne/year-SBR plant in Panipat, Haryana. The project is being constructed near a naptha cracker that will supply the raw material butadiene. When the plant starts commercial operation in 2013, TSRC says it will allow it to claim the title of “sole supplier” in the country.
Bereft of oil resources, Taiwan has successfully emerged as a petrochemical titan and currently ranks the ninth largest producer in the world. However, the country’s dependence on crude oil supply has made it vulnerable to pricing fluctuations. Thus, by value adding oil-related products it has managed to secure market leverage and perpetuate a miracle economy legacy. Taiwan Synthetic Rubber Corp (TSRC) is a company that was born out of this strategy. PRA spoke to President/CEO of TSRC, Tu Wei-Hua, to ascertain its business activities. Asia a major growth driver et up in 1973, TSRC, the largest synthetic rubber (SR) manufacturer and supplier in Taiwan, was established by Glyn TH Ing to support the government’s policy on developing the country’s petrochemical industry. Today, it has an output of 600,000 tonnes/year of SRs like SBR, BR, NBR, TPE and TPE compounds and had a group turnover of US$18 billion last year, a record in its history. Asia continues to serve as a key growth driver for the SR market and for TSRC, with the automotive sector as well as non-rubber finished goods sector demonstrating optimistic growth. With vehicle growth to skyrocket in China, the country is an important investment destination for the firm and it is no surprise that its output and sales have
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Shen-Hua, TSRC’s joint venture in Nantong produces ESBR
7 MARCH 2012
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