Sekisui And Lubrizol Set Up Thai Venture

Sekisui Chemical and Lubrizol will invest $50 million in a venture to produce chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) in Thailand’s Map Ta Phut industrial zone. The venture will be owned 51% by Sekisui and 49% by Lubrizol, and the plans are to open a 30,000-metric-ton-per-year plant by the end of 2014. It will be designed so capacity can be easily doubled, the partners say. Because of its high heat resistance, CPVC can replace metal in the manufacturing of hot-water pipes and sprinkler systems. Lubrizol is already building a $125 million CPVC plant in Texas; Sekisui is expanding capacity in Japan.