Logistics
On January 4, PCC Intermodal SA – together with Hupac International SA and Kombiverkehr KG – launches a new service along the transport corridor between the Ruhr district in Germany and the heart of Poland. Four times a week, a direct train travels in both directions between the DUSS terminal in Duisburg and the PCC-owned terminal in Kutno, central Poland with load capacities running to 1,200 metric tons.
Projects
The silicon metal project in northern Iceland is proceeding according to plan after the official start of construction (September 2015). At the beginning of 2016, the detailed planning of the plant and the terracing of the site are completed, and the first foundations are built. In addition, the search for personnel for the operation of the plant, which is planned to start in 2018, was initiated and an important step was taken with the hiring of a very experienced management team. In September 2016, the 3,600 m2 coal storage hall on the top terrace of the construction site was completed. At the same time, the steel construction of the furnace house began.
Chemicals
The chemical companies PCC Rokita SA and PCC Exol SA achieve high ratings in the renowned EcoVadis sustainability rating. In February, PCC Exol SA receives the gold certificate for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance, making it one of the two percent of the best suppliers rated by EcoVadis in all CSR categories worldwide. At the end of 2015, PCC Rokita SA achieved silver status in the rating immediately when participating for the first time.
Logistics
At the end of April, PCC Intermodal SA establishes a container transport connection to China. The first train between the PCC terminal Kutno in Poland and the city of Chengdu in the Chinese province of Sichuan covered around 10,000 kilometers in about eleven days.
Chemicals
The year sees expansion in production capacities, in some cases substantial, and new facilities developed within the segments of the Chemicals division. For example, a new production plant for prepolymers is commissioned at PCC Prodex Sp. z o. o. in Brzeg Dolny. With an annual capacity of 7,500 metric tons, the facility counts among the three biggest of this kind in Poland. And in the Surfactants segment, PCC Exol SA builds a production plant for betaines with an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons.
Projects
In a joint venture with our long-standing business partner JSC Shchekinoazot, we build a plant for the production of high-purity, aerosol-grade dimethyl ether (DME) in the Tula region of Russia. Its annual capacity is set at around 20,000 metric tons. At the end of June, our joint venture receives the building permit, and in July we begin preparing the construction site. Commissioning of the facility is planned for summer 2018.
Chemicals
In December 2016, PCC MCAA Sp. z o.o. successfully commissions the new MCAA plant located in Brzeg Dolny. The plant significantly extends PCC’s value chain, especially in the chlorine segment.
In December, PCC Rokita SA acquires 25 percent of the shares in the Thai polyols and polyurethanes producer IRPC Polyol Company Ltd. (IRPC Polyol), based in Bangkok. The two companies are already linked by their joint venture IRPC PCC established at the beginning of 2015 for the sale and distribution of polyols and PU systems in Southeast Asia, China and India. For PCC Rokita SA, acquisition of this stake in the joint venture partner represents the next step in its expansion in Asia.
