Vinnolit

　　　　　Vintron GmbH、 a wholly owned subsidiary of Vinnolit 　　ＶＣＭ増設

Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG together with its wholly owned subsidiary Vintron GmbH, is the leading manufacturer of PVC in Germany and one of the most significant in Europe. On the 20. 07. 2000 but with effect from 01. 01. 2000, both companies were acquired by Advent International Corporation from Celanese AG, Kronberg/Taunus and Wacker-Chemie GmbH, Munich. This decisive step assures Vinnolit significant and long-term perspectives on the world market.


History:

1993
Founding of Vinnolit Kunststoff GmbH with Head Office in Ismaning, near Munich. The company is a joint venture combining the PVC activities of Messrs Hoechst AG and Wacker-Chemie GmbH.

1998
Founding of Vinnolit Monomer GmbH & Co. KG as a wholly owned subsidiary. Vinnolit Monomer GmbH & Co. KG is the successor to Celanese GmbH and supplies chlorine and chlorinated downstream products to the Vinnolit plants in Gendorf. From 2000 onwards also to Burghausen, thereby effectively integrating the raw material production into Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG. Founding of Vinnolit Technologie GmbH & Co. KG (Vintec) - a company formed to market (in the form of licensing agreements), the considerable advances made in the production technologies of EDC/VCM and suspension PVC more effectively.

2000
Acquisition of the company by the American venture capital concern Advent International Corporation. The companies Kunststoff GmbH and Monomer GmbH & Co. KG are merged as Polymers Division and Monomers Division into Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG. Vintron GmbH in Knapsack, founded as a wholly owned subsidiary by Celanese AG on 01.01.1999, becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG.

Sites

　Headquarters at Ismaning

Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG is headed by two managing directors, who are assisted by a management group. National and international activities are controlled and co-ordinated - with state-of-the-art technology and logistics - from company headquarters in Ismaning, where Sales and Marketing and Corporate Administration are also located.

　The Gendorf Site

Vinnolit's production facilities are located on the premises of the Gendorf plant, where some 4 000 people are employed (ca. 500 of them by Vinnolit). PVC has been produced here since 1954.

Facilities:

Suspension PVC production
Emulsion PVC production
Electrolysis
EDC production
VCM production
Tin tetrachloride production

Vinyl chloride is produced on site and supplied to the PVC production facilities via a closed network of pipes.

　The Burghausen Site

Vinnolit's production facilities are located on the premises of Wacker-Chemie GmbH Burghausen plant, where ca. 9 700 people are employed (ca. 400 of them by Vinnolit). PVC has been produced here on an industrial scale since 1942.

Facilities:

Suspension PVC production
Emulsion PVC production
Co-polymerised PVC production

The PVC production facilities are supplied with vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) via a pipeline from the nearby Gendorf VCM plant.

　The Cologne Site

Vinnolit's production facilities are located on the premises of Wacker-Chemie GmbH's Cologne plant, where ca. 430 people are employed (ca. 200 of them by Vinnolit). PVC has been produced here on an industrial scale since 1965.

Facilities:

Microsuspension (paste) PVC production
Suspension PVC production

Vinyl chloride monomer is received at a ship unloading facility at the Cologne-Niehl petroleum port and at a railway tank wagon unloading facility on the plant premises. It is conveyed via a network of pipes to the production facilities.

　The Knapsack Site

Vinnolit's production facilities are located on the premises of Hoechst AG's Knapsack, where 2 440 people are employed (ca. 85 by Vinnolit). Suspension PVC has been produced here since 1966.

Facilities:　Suspension PVC production

The PVC production facility is supplied with vinyl chloride by the on-location site of Vintron GmbH.

　

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European Chemical News 2000/7/24 　

Advent buys Vinnolit/Vintron

　Advent International has completed the linked purchases of vinyls businesses Vinnolit and Vintron. Vinnolit's joint owners Celanese and Wacker declined to disclose the price paid for Europe's fourth largest PVC producer. Vinnolit's turnover is around E500m ($468m).
　Celanese said the sale of its wholly owned, E60m-turnover upstream business Vintron had been at a loss. This will be covered by one-off charges in the fourth quarter 2000 and first quarter 2001.
　Advent is keen for more PVC exposure. 'Opportunities may exist to merge with or acquire other PVC assets in Europe,' said John Walker, Advent's chairman, but 'there is no other deal in the pipeline'.
Advent also holds 10% of Vestolit, the other major German PVC producer. Vestolit and Vinnolit looked closely at a merger before Degussa-Huls sold Vestolit to the private equity investor consortium of D George Harris, Candover and Advent.
Talks were terminated because of constraints imposed by the restructuring at the parent companies Degussa-Huls and Hoechst.
Vinnolit has four plants in Germany at Burghausen, Gendorf, Knapsack and Merkinech. Vintron manufactures VCM, EDC, chlorine and caustic soda from one plant at Knapsack. Vinnolit is increasing PVC capacity from 570,000 tonne/year to 650,000 tonne/year and will increase VCM capacity at Gendorf from 190,000 tonne/year to 285,000 tonne/year by the end of this year.
Vintron holds the key to lower costs in the business. It is planning to lift VCM capacity from 105,000 tonne/year to 330,000 tonne/year by October 2001. Advent said it will then become one of the lowest cost PVC producers in Europe. Advent likes Vinnolit's strong position in speciality grades and its proximity to the central European market.

2002/4/11 Vinnolit

New world-scale Vinyl chloride plant at Vintron in Knapsack.
　　　Successful conclusion of the backward integration of Vinnolit

On April 11th 2002 the newly built 330.000 mt / year vinyl chloride plant at Vintron in Knapsack will be inaugurated. The ceremony marks the conclusion of the restructuring at Vintron including expansion of chlorine, dichloroethane and vinyl chloride capacities.

The project initiated at Vintron GmbH in 1998 to restructure the entire range of electrolysis products and derivative products (chlorine, caustic soda, hydrogen, dichloroethane, vinyl chloride) represents the largest investment, more than E 130million, made thus far at the Knapsack chemicals site and concludes the process of backward integration of the parent company Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG. The realisation of this ambitious project to safeguard our supply of raw materials was made possible as a result of the acquisition of Vinnolit and Vintron in 2000 by Advent International, a leading international investment company. Vinnolit now has at its disposal two backwards integrated twin sites for PVC production - Burghausen/Gendorf and Cologne/Knapsack.

The newly integrated oxychlorination / cracking plant with a capacity of 330,000 metric tonnes of vinyl chloride came on stream at the beginning of 2002. Built under the technical guidance of Krupp Uhde, it represents one of the largest and most modern plants of its kind on the European continent and was built and inaugurated in a record time of only 20 months. The new production plant is based on technology developed within the Vinnolit group and licensed worldwide.

Already in October 2001 capacity at the chlorine production plant was expanded to 250,000 metric tonnes annually with an extension to the facilities which incorporates energy-saving membrane technology. In addition, in recent years the capacity of the direct chlorination plant for the production of dichloroethane has trebled. This resulted from technology developed in-house using the existing reactors and from the installation of a new distillation column for product purification.

Investment in modern plants also benefits the environment. Responsible CareR and Sustainable Development form an integral part of the business policy of Vintron and Vinnolit. Both companies are committed to ongoing improvements vis-a-vis environmental- and health protection, safety and quality. As a result of the establishment of the new vinyl chloride plant, energy consumption at Vintron will be reduced considerably. The demand for natural gas is now 40% lower and electricity consumption is down 15% per tonne of vinyl chloride. The introduction of membrane technology and the optimal integration with the existing plant has helped to reduce electricity consumption in the production of chlorine by 10% per tonne.

Advent International acquired the companies Vintron and Vinnolit in July 2000. The new owners set themselves the target of further developing the business and the plants at both companies in order to be able to meet customers' increasing future demands. According to the Vinnolit Managing Directors Dr. Josef Ertl and Hans Jurgen Zippel, "The investment in Knapsack signifies long-term positive expectations in the development of PVC business based on a cost-optimised value creation chain resulting in greatly enhanced competitiveness." With an annual capacity of 650,000 metric tonnes of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Vinnolit is the leading producer in Germany, one of the most important producers in Europe and, worldwide, is among the Top 10 in vinyls industry. "Having successfully restructured Vintron to safeguard raw material supply to Vinnolit, we are convinced that we have made a significant contribution to securing the future of our site and work places in the region", states Vintron Managing Director Dr. Hermann Berwe.

On 11.04.2002 Vintron will celebrate the successful production expansion: On the occasion of the inauguration Dr. Hermann Berwe has invited all staff and their families as well as numerous guests from the economy, the local community, trade associations, local authorities and the political arena to an official opening of the new plant. Guest of honour is the Economics Minister for North Rhine-Westphalia Ernst Schwanhold.

Advent International
Advent International is one of the world's largest private equity firms which advises international funds. Founded in Boston in 1984, the firm has 15 offices in 14 countries and manages a portfolio of investments totalling some US$6 billion. Advent has invested in more than 500 companies worldwide in various branches of industry. www.adventinternational.com

Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG
With an annual capacity of 650,000 metric tonnes Vinnolit is the leading PVC producer in Germany, one of the most important producers in Europe and, worldwide, is among the Top 10 in vinyls industry. National and international activities of the company are managed from Ismaning, near Munich. Production sites are in Burghausen, Gendorf, Knapsack und Cologne. Turnover of Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG in 2001 amounted to E542million. The Managing Directors are Dr. Josef Ertl und Hans-Jurgen Zippel.
The Vinnolit group employs 1,600 staff including those at the subsidiaries, Vintron GmbH and Vinnolit Technologie GmbH & Co. KG (VinTec).

Vinnolit produces and markets a wide range of PVC products covering all kinds of PVC applications, e.g. in the construction sector, in the automobile industry or in the medical sector. Whether the PVC is for window profiles, rigid film, technical coatings, car undersealing or medical applications, Vinnolit is able to offer a suitable product. In the area of PVC products for special applications Vinnolit is the market and technical leader. www.vinnolit.com

Vintron GmbH
Vintron, a 100 % subsidiary of Vinnolit GmbH & Co. KG, employs around 270 staff with a turnover of ca. E 190million and is based in Hurth-Knapsack near Cologne. The company produces various raw materials, which are required in the chemical industry as well as in other branches. These products include chlorine, caustic soda, hydrogen, dichloroethane and vinyl chloride. The Managing Director is Dr. Hermann Berwe. www.vintron.de

Products from Vintron und Vinnolit
Chlorine is indispensible in many areas of daily life. It is used, for example, in the preparation and disinfection of drinking water or in the preparation of medicaments. In addition, chlorine is employed in the production of a variety of plastics used in the construction and automobile industries. Chlorine is also used in the production of compact discs, solar panels and computer- chips. Chlorine and its derivatives thereby make an important contribution to health, safety and comfort in the modern industrial society.

Caustic soda is an important industrial chemical which is used in many different areas; e.g. in the production of aluminium, washing powders, synthetic fibres, glass, paper, cellulose and dye-stuffs.

Hydrogen is used in numerous production processes. In addition, hydrogen is used as welding gas or as fuel, whereby the only combustion product is water.

Dichloroethane and Vinyl chloride are intermediate products for PVC production.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a particularly versatile material - functional, economical, environmentally sustainable - which is used in many areas of industry and in many different applications. In the construction sector - accounting for more than 60% of PVC production - the material comes into its own, above all because it is resistant to ageing, is water- and chemical-proof, is difficult to ignite, provides good insulation and, for special applications and depending on the requirements, can be produced in impact resistant, non-fading and transparent formats. Examples for such applications include window profiles, pipes, other profiles, roofing, flooring and cable sheathing. Other important PVC customers include the automobile and electrical industries, the medical sector and the packaging industry. PVC can be easily reused and for the most important applications it will be recycled.

Platts 2006/11/23

Germany's Vinnolit to spend Eur100 mil on chlor-alkali upgrades

German PVC producer Vinnolit plans to spend Eur100 million ($130 million) on gradually upgrading its chlorine electrolysis capacity at Gendorf and Knapsack, the company said in a statement Tuesday. By 2011, Vinnolit said it would be able to produce 430,000 mt/year of chlorine.
About Eur45 million of the funding is set aside to be spent on a new 90,000 mt/year membrane electrolysis plant at Vinnolit's Gendorf site. At the same time, mercury-based capacity is to be cut by 60,000 mt/year at Knapsack. The remaining Eur55 million is to be spent on converting the remaining mercury-based capacity to the membrane process, Vinnolit said.
The producer said one of the main reason it was proceeding with the plan to expand the chlorine capacity was the decision by Ethylene Pipeline Sud GmbH & Co (EPS), a consortium of German petrochemical companies which includes Vinnolit, to construct an ethylene pipeline between Ludwigshafen (Rheinland-Pfalz) and Munchsmunster (Bavaria).
The EPS pipelines ensures companies based in the Bavarian chemical sector, the long-term supply of ethylene feedstock, Vinnolit said. With a total PVC production capacity of 680,000 mt/year in Germany, a stable supply of ethylene is vital for Vinnolit. The company operates PVC plants in Burghausen, Gendorf, Knapsack and Cologne.
BASF, Borealis, Clariant, OMV Deutschland, Ruhr Oel, and Wacker Chemie make up the rest of the EPS consortium.