Dutch plant in Bontang

Dutch plant in Bontang

AMSTERDAM (Reuter): Dutch chemicals group DSM NV says its 60 percent-owned Indonesian joint venture DSM Kaltim Melamine was going ahead with plans to dismantle a melamine plant in the Netherlands and rebuild it in Indonesia.

The Dutch company is the world's leading manufacturer of melamine, an intermediate product used to make decorative surfaces and adhesives for the wood-processing industry.

DSM said Thursday the 150 million guilder (US$86 million) 50,000-ton-per-year plant was completed in 1992 but never operated because European melamine demand fell short of DSM's expectations.

In March DSM said it was considering moving the three million kilogram (3,000 ton) plant to Indonesia to take advantage of strong demand in Asia.

Work has already started to dismantle the plant and the parts will be shipped to Indonesia in April. It is expected to come on stream at its new site in Bontang, a port on the east coast of Kalimantan, in the second quarter of 1996.

The plant will be operated by DSM Kaltim Melamine, a joint venture between DSM and two Indonesian companies, Kaltim and Barito.