Petrochemical manufacturer and marketer Petrochemical Corporation of Asia-Pacific (Petrocorp) finds itself in a position to be globally competitive.
Located in Bataan and the first polypropylene manufacturer in the country, it currently has an ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) 9002 rating. It also had the largest BASF polypropylene reactor in the world at the time of its commissioning.
Petrocorp's line of polypropylene products, commonly used in the production of packaging materials, go under the Petrolene trade name and include homopolymers.
Petrolene homopolymers are manufactured using the Novolen Gas-Phase process, a manufacturing process from BASF, Germany, says a BusinessWorld report.
Petrolene homopolymers produced using this process are suitable for a wide range of applications, including closures, short spinning fibers, food containers, general injection moldings, blow moldings, sacks, ropes, nets and twines, thermo-formed containers, cast film and water-cooled blow-film.
These products are noted for their good balance of toughness, rigidity, hardness and heat deformation resistance properties.
These also comply with FDA regulations, exhibit low taste and odour levels.
With the advantages of BASF's comprehensive polypropylene technology and research, Petrocorp now possesses a high quality product line.
Even so, it believes in continuously improving and enlarging the product line to meet global standards.
Petrocorp was founded in February 1991 with the vision of establishing the first fully integrated petrochemical complex in the country.
Sharing the same vision, companies representing some of the leading names in local business joined Petrocorp soon after.
Petrocorp's local partners include the Chemphil Group, engaged in basic industrial chemicals, PO Holdings, the umbrella group of pioneers in petrochemical projects, Basic Diversified Industrial Holdings, a subsidiary of Basic Petroleum and Minerals Corp, plastics processor International Polymer Corp, investment house All Asia Capital and Agatha Builders Corp, a realty corporation with affiliates involved in plastics processing.
Also involved is PNOC-Petrochemical Development Corp (PDC), the government's vehicle in establishing the Philippine petrochemical industry.
Other international giants that make up the company's shareholders include BASF Aktiengesellschaft of Germany, a chemical manufacturer and supplier of polypropylene technology, Itochu Corp and Sumitomo Corp, two of Japan's biggest trading corporations and suppliers of propylene feedstock and other raw materials, Thai Petrochemical Industry Co, Ltd (TPI), which operates one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Southeast Asia and the Asian Finance and Investment Corp.
Petrocorp's initial venture is a polypropylene plant built on a 22-hectare site within the 530-hectare Petrochemical Industrial Estate owned by PNOC-PDC and is located in Mariveles, Bataan, within the proximity of Petron Corp, a PNOC subsidiary.
The Petrocorp plant's initial capacity of 160,000 tonnes will be expanded to 225,000 tonnes in the near future.
This will allow Petrocorp adequate capacity to supply the bulk of the domestic demand for virgin polypropylene, a versatile thermoplastic product.
