•
INDUSTRY NEW CHEMICAL CONSTRUCTION
/N MILL/ONS OF DOLLARS LOCATION UNSPECIFIED-$90.8
TOTAL-$3,661
N e w Plant Construction Booms Chemical industry will spend $ 3 . 7 billion for new plant construction by e n d of 1958 says M C A ALL
SIGNS POINT t o an increased r a t e
of n e w chemical plant construction over the next two years. After spending $1.2 billion for new p l a n t s in 1956, the chemical industry plans t o spend a n additional $ 2 . 5 billion for p l a n t construction to b e completed b y t h e e n d of 1 9 5 8 . In 1955, total spending for new chemical plants amounted t o $772 million. T h e s e are some of the highlights of a survey of t h e chemical industry's construction plans just completed by t h e Manufacturing Chemists' Association. Says M C A president Gen. J . E . Hull, USA ( r e t . ) , "This record construction of n e w facilities clearly indicates a cont i n u e d high confidence on t h e part of the chemical industry in the strength of the American economy." According t o Hull, there a r e t w o reasons for these large investments in n e w plants. In t h e first place, h e says, markets for chemical products a r e growing steadily. This expansion reflects both the g r o w t h of the general economy and t h e role t h a t research plays in continually developing new uses for chemical products. The importance of r e search is indicated by chemical industry plans t o spend $95.3 million for new laboratories during t h e survey period. Another factor sparking t h e n e w p l a n t boom, says Hull, i s t h e chemical companies' continual efforts t o relieve
t h e pressures of higher costs a n d fiercer competition. Result: Increased inv e s t m e n t in more efficient production units. Figures in t h e M C A survey cannot b e directly compared with other p u b lished figures. Reason for this is that M C A combined published information w i t h confidential d a t a furnished b y its m e m b e r s . I n addition, figures quoted refer to construction of n e w plants, not replacements, and exclude cost of buildi n g not directly connected with basic production. Terms M C A uses to describe status of plant construction: • C o m p l e t e d : Construction has been finished, equipment installed, and the u n i t is actually in production. • U n d e r construction: Ground has b e e n broken and construction has actually started. • Planned: Commitments have b e e n m a d e , financing has been arranged, b u t g r o u n d h a s n o t yet been broken. • Organics Lead. Biggest investm e n t i n plant expansion during the survey period, 1956-58, is i n the field of organic chemicals, both heavy and fine. Consolidated figures for plants completed, u n d e r construction, a n d p l a n n e d show that the chemical industry will spend $937 million in this field. I n MCA's 1 9 5 5 survey, covering t h e years 1955-57, industry p l a n n e d to
spend $633 million for organic chemicals plants. Next in line is spending for inorganic chemicals plants. MCA says that during the survey period industry will spend $ 8 1 7 million for n e w inorganic chemicals plants. This is almost twice as much a s industry said it would spend in last year's survey. F o r t h e threeyear period 1955-57, t h e inorganic chemicals industry p l a n n e d to spend $481 million for new plants. Vaulting into third place is spending for new p l a n t s to produce metals and alloys by chemical processing. Among such metals a r e titanium a n d lithium. In t h e survey period producers plan to spend $466 million for n e w plants. In last year's survey, spending for metal processing plants was in sixth place with a p l a n n e d investment of $155 million for t h e survey period. Spending for new plants in other segments of the chemical industry is also higher. Investment in n e w plants to produce plastics a n d resins will b e $395 million compared t o $288 million in last year's survey. For n e w synthetic fiber plants, $279 million is ticketed vs. $ 1 5 5 million; for synthetic rubber plants, $209 million vs. $117 million. O n e exception to t h e general increase in spending for n e w plants is the fertilizer industry. H e r e $407 million will b e spent for n e w plants. This is down slightly from t h e $433 million fertilizer producers expected to spend in t h e period 1955-57. • N a t i o n w i d e Push. T h e chemical industry's expansion plans cover almost every geographical location in t h e United States. MCA's survey reports chemical construction projects in 45 of t h e 4 8 states. Says MCA's Hull, "One significant fact stands out in this survey. T h e chemical industry is b e coming more nationwide . . . " T h e 7 6 1 projects covered in the survey are located in 4 0 6 communities throughout t h e nation. All told, 327 chemical companies are planning t o expand their production facilities. L e a d e r s in chemical plant construction, as measured by dollars invested, are the W e s t South Central States, South Atlantic States, a n d East North Central States. • West South Central States. Spending for n e w chemical construction in this area, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, a n d Arkansas, far outranks similar spending in other areas of the country. Total expenditures over the period covered by t h e survey will amount t o $1.05 billion. N e w chemical construction in Texas alone accounts for almost 60% of the money t o be spent in this area, or $640 million. The great bulk of these projects is either completed or under construction, as t h e cost of plants in the planning stage amounts to only $85 FEB.
4,
1957
C&EN
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INDUSTRY
million. The amount of money to b e spent in this survey period is 2.5 times as much as the amount indicated in last year's survey. Louisiana, in fourth place in last year's survey, is now in second place in the national rankings based on the value of planned chemical construction. As a producer of chemicals, Louisiana ranks 13th in the nation. Total money to be spent in this state during the survey period for new chemical construction will be $379 million, of which $19 million represents construction completed in 1956. • South Atlantic States. Spending $729 million for new chemical construction ranks this area second highest in the nation, according to t h e MCA survey. The area includes Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Total value of projects completed in 1956 amounted to $187 million. Florida, far down the list in the national ratings as a chemical producer, is coming u p fast in new plant construction. Ranked fourth in value of construction in the MCA survey, Florida will have 20 projects to cost $238 million. Close behind Florida is West Virginia with 43 construction projects scheduled to cost $230 million. • East North Central States. Spending $507 million for new chemical construction puts this area in third place in MCA's survey. The area includes Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Almost half of the money to be spent in this area will be in Ohio. With 4 7 new projects in the works, Ohio will spend $227 million on n e w plants. Of this sum, $90 million covers construction completed in 1956. Ohio, ranked fifth in the nation as a chemical producer, is in sixth place in the MCA construction survey.
In Michigan, seventh ranking chemical producer in the country, $141 million will be spent during t h e survey period. But in this state, 7 0 % of the money covers construction projects in the planning stage. On the other hand, in Illinois only 7 % of the $90 million to be spent represents construction in this category. • Middle Atlantic States. This area, including New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, is the traditional leader in chemical production. Yet, the $345 million to b e spent in this area for new chemical construction is fourth place in MCA's list. New Jersey, top chemical producer in the country, will spend $139 million for new chemical plants. Most of this money will go for plants under construction or in the planning stage. N e w projects completed in 1956 cost $50 million. New York, the country's second largest chemical producer, will spend $89 million. Here, about half the projects are scheduled for completion this year or next. In Pennsylvania, sixth largest chemical producer, of the $115 million assigned to new construction, only $27 million represents projects completed in 1956. • New England States. At the bottom of MCA's survey ranking are the New England States, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Total money to be spent in this area for new chemical construction is $37 million. Bulk of the construction will b e in one state, Massachusetts, where $23 million will be spent. In this state, spending is for plants to be completed this year or next, as only $6 million represents construction done in 1956. As forecast by the Manufacturing Chemists' Association construction survey, 1957 should be a banner year for new chemical plant construction.
Leading States in MCA 's 1956 Construction Survey (Millions of Dollars) Planned
Texas Louisiana California Florida W e s t Virginia
Ohio Tennessee Michigan N e w Jersey Pennsylvania
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C&EN
FEB. 4,
$8.5 80 38 42 27 5 61 01 6 12 1957
Under Construction
Completed
Total
$400 279 89 171 95 132 19 7 83 77
$155 19 119 24 108 90 66 34 50 27
$640 379 246 238 230 227 146 141 139 115
Boosting Butyl Rubber Initial capacity of Petroleum Chemicals' Lake Charles, La., Butyl r u b b e r plant will be 30,000 tons a year. This represents an investment o f over $17 million. A company spokesman says that capacity could be easily expanded by 50% later. This will be the first Butyl plant built since the war; it will increase national capacity about a third. The company hopes to be in full production before January 1959. The p l a n t will be built: by Foster Wheeler on a site adjoining Petroleum Chemicals' other petrochemical plants at Lake Charles. Like -these other plants, t h e rubber plant -will g e t its raw materials from t h e L a k e Charles refineries of Cities Service and Continental Oil, joint owners o f Petroleum Chemicals. Butyl rubber is now exclusively made by Standard Oil ( N , J.), which developed it. Standard built a n d operated t w o plants for the Government during t h e war and b o u g h t them both when they were put u p for sale. Petroleum Chemicals has acquired a license from Standard covering its patents and know-how.
New Firm, New Plant An $11 million petrochemical plant to be built at Lake Chartes, La., will be owned by a new firm, Calcasieu Chemical Corp. Its products will be ethylene oxide and ethylente glycol. Calcasieu is a four-way venture. It has been formed by Cities Service, Continental Oil, Sears-Roebuck, and Mineral Solvents (C&EN, Jan. 28, page 7 ) . Its plant will be engineered, built, and operated by Petroleum Chemicals, owned b y Cities Service and Conoco. Petroleum Chemicals will also supply raw materials to Calcasieu from its adjacent ethylene plant now under construction. This ethylene plant, in turn, gets refinery gases for raw material from the adjacent Conoco and Cities Service refineries. All four of Calcasieu's "parents" are ethylene glycol antifreeze marketers. They will draw their supplies from the Lake Charles plant when it is completed in early 1958. The plant is expected t o make 8 million gallons of ethylene glycol a year. The plant will use a process licensed to it by Shell Development:. It will be built by Lummus Co., under direction of Petroleum Chemicals' staff. The plant will be operated r>y about 50 Petroleum Chemicals' employees. •
