Texmaco, Hoechst plan textile fiber plant
Texmaco, Hoechst plan textile fiber plant
FRANKFURT (Reuter): German chemical group Hoechst AG said
yesterday it planned to set up a textile fiber plant with
Multikarma Investama of Indonesia's Texmaco Group aimed at
boosting Hoechst's European textile fiber business.
Hoechst said it had signed a letter of intent founding the
venture which will give Hoechst a 40 percent stake in the joint
company and Multikarsa a 60 percent stake.
The new company will be based in Germany, Hoechst said in a
compulsory statement, and its name will be decided later.
Hoechst said it will transfer its European textile polyester
filament and staple fiber business, along with the trademark
Trevira to a joint venture with Multikarska Investment of
Jakarta, Hoechst said.
Multikarska is a holding company, which owns the Texmaco
Group, which in turn has activities in polyester and polyester
raw materials, textile technology and textile industry, financial
services and other areas.
Hoechst plans to transfer a number of units, which will now
form part of the joint venture, including Ernst Michalke in
Frankfurt and its site in Guben; Kaj Neckelmann and its Denmark
site; Hoechst Fibras in Portugal and parts of the Bobingen site
of Hoechst Trevira in Germany.
"In view of the significant structural changes in the European
fiber industry, the decision to set up a partnership is both
forward-looking and logical," said Bill Harris, president and CEO
of Trevira's worldwide business.
In Jakarta Texmaco Group's Chairman Marimutu Sinivasan said
yesterday there were many opportunities in today's polyester
industry for a large, vertically-integrated producer like
Texmaco.
"Our strategy is to build a global polyester business through
continued investment and strong technology and marketing
alliances," Sinivasan said.
He added Texmaco, already operating in the U.S., United
Kingdom, Ireland and Eastern Europe, North and South Africa and
Singapore, would bolster its position among the leading
polyester producers in the world.
Sinivasan saw Texmaco's partnership with Hoechst as a
tremendous way to access the European market.
Hoechst polyester staple and filament yarn business is the
largest in Europe with an annual capacity of 180,000 tons and a
20 percent share of the European market.