Borealis History
Sharing our heritage from past to present
Borealis was formed in 1994 with the merging of Neste and Statoil. The company has over 40 years of heritage in polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), operating as BP Antwerp, Danubia, EPSI, Esso Chemical Stenungsund, Himont Beringen, NSP, PCD, PCS, Saga Petrokjemi, Union Carbide, Unifos and Saga.
Key milestones
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994
2008
Borouge initiates feasability study on expansion beyond Borouge
2
The proposed expansion, called Borouge 3, would further
expand its polyolefin operations in Abu Dhabi to add 2.5 million tonnes per
year of capacity by 2014.
2008 Stockholm Water Prize awarded
Prof. John Anthony Allan named as the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize laureate
for his work on Virtual Water.
New Chemicals Industrial City planned for Abu Dhabi
Upon expected completion in 2013, the complex will be the largest and most
integrated of its kind in the world, supporting the Abu Dhabi government's
strategy of diversifying its economy.
Borealis announces new Vice President for Pipe business
unit
Jane Toogood replaces Lorenzo Delorenzi as Vice President of Pipe business
unit.
Borealis creates Science and Technology Advisory
Board
New board set up to provide further impetus to
Borealis' step change in innovation programme.
Borealis announces new Executive Vice President for
Polyolefins
Lorenzo Delorenzi, former Vice President of the
Pipe business unit, is appointed Executive Vice President of its
Polyolefins business group.
Borealis announces new Executive Board structure
Henry Sperle, who, after many years running the Hydrocarbons business,
takes on the new EVP position for the Middle East and Asia. Two new members
join the board: Martin Kuzaj, EVP of the newly formed Base Chemicals
business group and Daniel J. Shook, Chief Financial Officer.
Mark Garrett starts as Chief Executive and Chairman of the
Executive Board
On January 1, Mark Garrett officially took over from John Taylor as Chief
Executive and Chairman of the Executive Board.
2007
Borealis and Borouge launch Water for the
World
The unique programme
fosters local knowledge and partnerships throughout the value chain to
deliver sustainable solutions for the availability of safe water and
sanitation.
Borealis releases inaugural Sustainability
Issues Monitor
The new publication surveys the key sustainability
issues facing the European polyolefins industry.
Executive Vice President for Base Chemicals
appointed
Borealis appoints Martin Kuzaj as
Executive Vice President for Base Chemicals and member of the Executive
Board effective November 1, 2007.
Borouge production company appoints new CEO
Borouge appoints
Mr Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Hajri as Chief Executive Officer Designate of Abu
Dhabi Polymers Co Ltd, the Borouge Production Company.
Borealis and Borouge are co-founders of the
Stockholm Water Prize
Borealis and Borouge become
co-founders of the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize, contributing to
the promotion and reward of leadership and best practices in water and
sanitation.
Executive Vice President for polyolefins leaves
Borealis
David Rolph leaves Borealis after heading the
Polyolefins Business Group for nearly six years.
Borealis sells its petrochemical business in
Norway to Ineos
Continuing with the restructuring of its
Norwegian operations, Borealis AS announces that it has reached an
agreement to sell its petrochemical business in Bamble, Norway, to Ineos
for EUR 290 million.
Borouge formally signs USD 3.1 billion in
contracts for expansion project
Borouge signs contracts
valued at approximately USD 3.1 billion for Borouge 2, the major expansion
project at the company’s production facilities in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in the
United Arab Emirates.
Borouge launches Gulf Plastics Pipe
Academy
Borouge launches Gulf Plastics Pipe
Academy (GPPA) to promote the use of high quality plastics pipe
systems in the Middle East.
Borealis announces EUR 370 million investment
for the wire and cable market
Borealis announces EUR 370
million investment in Stenungsund, Sweden operation, enhancing its
capability to provide advanced materials for the growing wire and cable
market, as well as for the Nordic packaging market.
New Chief Financial Officer
appointed
Daniel J. Shook is
appointed Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board
effective June 1, 2007, succeeding Clive Watson who left the company in
September 2006.
Borealis appoints Chief Executive
Designate
Mark Garrett assumes
the role of Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief
Executive when John Taylor turns 60 years old and retires at the
end of 2007.
2006
OMV and IPIC consolidate chemistry activities
into subsidiary Borealis
OMV and IPIC announce
the incorporation of their respective 50% shares of
Agrolinz
Melamine International (AMI) into their joint subsidiary
Borealis, to occur within the first half of 2007.
Borouge and Borealis sign Responsible Care
Global Charter
Borouge
and Borealis sign the Responsible
Care® Global Charter at the inaugural Gulf Petrochemicals and
Chemicals Association (GPCA) Forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
demonstrating ongoing commitment to further their leadership position in
health, safety and
environmental (HSE) management, and advance product stewardship
and sustainable development.
Borouge awards approximately USD 1.3 billion
Borouge 2 Cracker contract to Linde Engineering
Borouge awards the contract to build its new ethane cracker to Linde
Engineering. The cracker will have a capacity of approximately 1.5 million
t/y and is considered to be the largest gas cracker in the world.
Borealis invests EUR 200 million in
Borstar® polypropylene plant in Central Europe
Borealis reports that the 330,000 t/y expansion of its Borstar PP
facilities in Burghausen, Germany,
is progressing according to plan with start up scheduled before the end
of 2007.
Borealis starts expansion of its Innovation
Centre in Linz
Borealis begins expansion of its Innovation
Centre located at the Chemiepark in Linz, the first step in
the company’s strategy to develop the Linz-based centre as the hub of
its international research activities.
OMV and Borealis celebrate joint investment in
Austria
OMV
and Borealis inaugurate the new 350,000 t/y Borstar® PE plant, the
expansion to 300,000 t/y of its Borstar PP plant and the expansion from
650,000 to 900,000 t/y of OMV’s nearby cracker in Schwechat, Austria.
The occasion was marked by a futuristic multimedia celebration with the
theme, The Bridge: The journey from oil to plastics. The EUR 400 million
joint investment turns the OMV/Borealis Schwechat location into one of
the largest plastics manufacturing sites in Europe.
Borouge and Borealis announce world-class Innovation Centre in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The Innovation Centre represents a significant investment in Borouge’s
research capabilities to meet customer needs in the Middle East and Asia
Pacific regions.
Borealis Head Office moves to Vienna
As part of reinforcing its European footprint, Borealis moved its Head
Office from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Vienna, Austria, positioning it
strategically at the centre of Europe and closer to its owners.
Borealis celebrates 10 years of innovative solutions in
Commonwealth of Independent States
Borealis celebrates 10 years serving its PE and PP customers in Russia and
the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Borealis announces closure of HDPE plant in Norway
The Borealis Board of Directors agrees to close its high density PE (HDPE)
plant in Bamble, Norway.
2005
Borealis demonstrates leadership in
safety
Borealis wins the prestigious DuPont Safety Award in the Business Impact
category for individual and collective initiatives in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa. The award recognised Borealis’ successful business
transformation since 2001, which included a step change in safety across
the Group (including contractors), contributing to overall operational
excellence.
Expansion of XLPE and phenol capacity in
Scandinavia
Borealis announced plans to substantially expand its XLPE capacity in
Stenungsund, Sweden, and to invest more than EUR 60 million in its phenol
and aromatics business located in Porvoo, Finland.
Change in ownership underpins
future growth
The International Petroleum Investment Company
(IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and OMV Aktiengesellschaft of Austria agree to purchase
Statoil’s 50% shareholding in Borealis A/S. The new Borealis ownership
becomes 65% IPIC and 35% OMV. Dr. Gerhard Roiss, Deputy CEO of OMV,
remains the Chairman of Borealis A/S and Mr. Mohamed Al Khaily, Managing
Director of IPIC, becomes Vice Chairman. Both IPIC and OMV are fully
supportive of Borealis' Value Creation through Innovation
Strategy.
Borealis invests EUR 36 million to increase Nordic olefins
capacity
Slated for completion during a planned turnaround in 2007, the investment
will increase capacity at the olefins unit in Porvoo, Finland,
from 330,000 t/y to 380,000 t/y for ethylene and from 200,000 t/y to
223,000 t/y for propylene.
Value Creation through Innovation strategy pays off
The company reports operating profits of EUR 110 million in first quarter,
EUR 51 million in second quarter.
2004
New company vision
Borealis launches its vision of Shaping the Future with Plastics at the
October K Fair, as part of a revitalised visual identity.
Borealis breaks ground with a new Borstar PE plant in Schwechat, Austria, to start up in the second half of 2005. Capacity will be 350,000 t/y of advanced PE grades for the packaging industry.
Sale of Portuguese operations to Repsol YPF
The company reduces its European footprint from seven sites in 2001 to four operational hubs: Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden), Belgium, Central Europe (Austria and Germany) and Finland.
Borouge exceeds design capacity
Expansion plans to raise Borstar PE to 580,000 t/y by mid-2005 in Ruwais, UAE.
Borealis becomes leader in safety management
Safety and environmental performance show marked improvement, with total recordable injuries (TRIs) of 2.4 per million working hours, down from 3.8 in 2003.
Sales growth
Sales in key market segments grow from 31% in 2001 to 43% in 2004.
Innovation
Sixteen significant product innovations launched during 2004.
2003
Delivering customer value
Borealis achieves significant PE and PP sales growth in higher added-value
markets.
Strong market acceptance of Borstar
PE
Acceptance of Borstar PE for industrial and packaging film spreads from
Northern to Central Europe. Borealis responds to customer demand for more
Borstar polyolefins and announces investments of more than EUR 230 million
to expand Borstar production capacity by 630,000 tonnes in Europe and the
Middle East.
Operational excellence
The year 2003 is characterised by production records and debottlenecking of
several polyolefin plants, as well as improved olefin plant
operability.
Borouge developing into world-scale
petrochemical complex
Borouge, Borealis’ joint venture with ADNOC,
announces plans to expand its existing Borstar PE capacity in the UAE to
become a world-scale petrochemical complex.
EUR 200 million to be invested in the construction of a new 350,000 t/y PE plant based on Borstar process technology, and a 90,000 t/y expansion of the existing Borstar PP plant at Schwechat, Austria. The new capacity will come onstream in 2005.
Streamlined technology organisation
Borealis' technology organisation is redesigned to accelerate the pace of innovation and ensure Borealis' future leadership in enhanced polyolefins. Four Innovation Centres are devoted to developing the next generation of polyolefins.
Borealis expands distribution agreement with Ashland
Distribution agreement with Ashland expands to also include PP for small and medium size automotive and household appliance customers in the Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK in addition to the Nordic countries.
2002
Positive result despite sagging
prices
PE and PP market prices are 8% lower than in 2001, yet Borealis returns a
positive net result of EUR 6 million for the year. A business
transformation programme is underway throughout the group.
Borealis' values
Borealis introduces its new company values:
Responsible, Respect, Exceed and Nimblicity™. A unique bottom-up
process, resulting in a new addition to the English language,
Nimblicity™combines the essence of nimble and simplicity.
Total recordable injuries (TRIs) per million working hours drop more than 50% to 4.0 from 8.4 in 2001, thanks to a group-wide focus on safety.
Borouge inauguration
The Borouge joint venture petrochemical complex in the United Arab Emirates ships its first commercial Borstar PE in January. It is officially inaugurated in October by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Borstar PE in China
The first third-party licence for Borealis’ Borstar technology begins production at the Shanghai Petrochemical Company in China.
2001
Increasing market share in a difficult
year
Borealis maintains its strong market position and increases market share in
key segments despite a net loss of EUR 41 million for the year.
Updated strategy
To regain profitability, Borealis updates its strategy and sets the goal of
becoming a leading, profitable, integrated polyolefins supplier.
John Taylor becomes Chief Executive of the Borealis Group in April, succeeding Svein Rennemo, who had served as Chief Executive since 1997.
Step change in safety performance
With the goal of becoming an industry leader in safety, Borealis achieves a reduction of 18% in the total incident rate, but two colleagues die from accidents.
Successful Borouge start-up
Borouge, a joint venture between Borealis and ADNOC, starts up a new, EUR 1.4 billion petrochemical complex in Ruwais, UAE. It consists of a 600,000 t/y ethylene cracker and two Borstar polyethylene plants with a combined production capacity of 450,000 t/y.
2000
Borealis and DuPont joint venture
memorandum
Borealis and DuPont sign a Memorandum of Understanding for a manufacturing
joint venture of high-pressure copolymers at Borealis’ plant near Antwerp,
Belgium.
SINOPEC selects Borstar PE
technology
The China Petrochemical Company (SINOPEC) selects Borealis’ Borstar PE
technology for a 250,000 t/y PE plant at Shanghai. It will be the largest
polyolefin production unit in China.
First Borstar PP plant
Successful construction and start-up of Borealis’ first Borstar PP plant at
Schwechat, Austria in March. The EUR 140 million project was finished under
budget and with a good safety record.
Launch of joint venture in
Belgium
Borealis and DuPont launch their 50-50 manufacturing joint venture,
Speciality Polymers Antwerp N.V., in Zwijndrecht, Belgium.
Borstar® PP plant opens in Austria
Austria’s Minister of Economy and Labour opens Borealis’ new Borstar PP
plant.
Agreement of joint venture with OPP
Borealis and OPP Petroquímica S.A. of the Odebrecht Group agree to
establish a joint-venture compounding company in Brazil. Borealis-OPP is
owned 80% by Borealis and becomes operational in December 2000.
1999
Thermoplastics business sold
Borealis sells its glass-mat reinforced thermoplastics (GMT) business to
Symalit, a subsidiary of the Quadrant Group.
Donation to MSF
Borealis donates EUR 67,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without
Borders) as part of the company’s ongoing support of the international
relief organisation.
1998
Safety record
One of the low pressure PE plants at Stenungsund, Sweden,
marks 10 years with no lost time accidents.
ADNOC and Borealis agree to build and operate a petrochemical complex in Abu Dhabi and to establish a marketing company in Singapore. The joint venture is named Borouge.
PCD Acquisition
Borealis acquires PCD Polymere from OMV, the Austrian oil and gas group to become the fourth-largest polyolefins producer in the world.
Construction on first Borstar PP starts
Work begins at the Schwechat site to construct Borealis' first Borstar plant for PP.
1997
NSP AcquisitionBorealis acquires Montell Polyolefins' 50% share of North Sea Petrochemicals NV (NSP), making Borealis the sole owner of the 250,000 t/a PP plant in Kallo, Belgium.
Joint venture with ADNOC announced
Borealis and ADNOC announce plans for a 50/50 joint venture company in Singapore that will market products produced at the Borealis-ADNOC production complex in Abu Dhabi.
Ownership change
Neste sells its 50% shareholding in Borealis equally to OMV and to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi. Statoil retains 50% share.
1996
Management responsibility of
NSP
Borealis takes over management responsibility for North
Sea Petrochemicals (NSP) in Antwerp, a joint venture with
Montell.
Inauguration of first Borstar
plant
President of Finland officially inaugurates the world's
first Borstar plant in March.
ADNOC chooses Borealis for production joint
venture
ADNOC chooses Borealis for a joint venture to build and operate a
world-scale petrochemical complex in the UAE.
Partnership with Ashland
Borealis and Ashland Plastics announce plans for a pan-European partnership
to handle all of Borealis' small-volume customers.
Borealis Industrier
sold
Borealis sells its wholly-owned subsidiary, Borealis
Industrier to the Lear Corporation.
1995
HSE Award launched
Annual Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Awards are launched.
Start-up of Borstar plant
In October, first Borstar PE plant starts up in Porvoo.
1994
Borealis becomes operational
Neste
and Statoil merge their petrochemical and polyolefins businesses. Head
Office opens, located in Lyngby, Denmark.
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