Braskem’s Partnership with Repauno Port & Rail Terminal Provides Enhanced Propylene Feedstock Availability and Optionality for its Marcus Hook, Pa. Manufacturing Facility
Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas, as well as a market leader and pioneer producer of biopolymers on an industrial scale, and Repauno Port & Rail Terminal (“Repauno”), announces today that the parties successfully completed the first propylene import in more than a decade to the United States East Coast. The vessel arrived at Repauno’s new multi-use port terminal facility for energy products in Gibbstown, New Jersey. Today’s announcement follows a strategic initiative by Braskem to further enhance its feedstock optionality to supply propylene to its polypropylene (PP) manufacturing facility located in Marcus Hook, Pa. and allow the business to capture arbitrage opportunities for competitive propylene abroad.
Alexandre Elias, VP Polypropylene, Braskem America, stated, “Our new partnership with Repauno provides Braskem with increased flexibility and optionality to import propylene particularly when international prices are competitive. Additionally, it provides the flexibility to import in the event of supply disruptions to the asset. I am extremely proud of our team for bringing this opportunity to fruition, and successfully completing the import delivery.”
Braskem’s Marcus Hook facility produces 415 kilotons of polypropylene each year, which are used in medical, automotive, food packaging, and appliance applications. Since Braskem acquired the plant in 2010, it has expanded the production capacity of the plant by 25 percent through multiple improvement projects. In early 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Braskem’s Marcus Hook based manufacturing team members lived on site at the production facility for 28 days to ensure the continuous supply of raw material to produce medical personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N-95 respirator masks, medical gowns, as well as other healthcare packaging caps and closures.
Repauno Port & Rail Terminal (“Repauno”) is located on a 1,600-acre site along the Delaware River in Greenwich Township, New Jersey, one of the most active maritime markets in the nation. Repauno offers tremendous logistical optionality as it sits directly on the Delaware River, served by Conrail with access to CSX and Norfolk Southern, and easy truck access to I-295 and I-95 highways. Additionally, the site features a new multi-purpose dock with 40-foot draft, capable of safely handling a wide variety of products and available acreage with build-to-suit logistical solutions available for development.
To support the sustainable use of polypropylene through the development of, and investment in, the circular economy, Braskem America is a founding member and funding partner of the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, with a primary focus on increasing U.S. polypropylene recovery and reuse. To learn more about the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, the founding members, and how to join,
