Chemanol (Methanol Chemicals Company Ltd.) announced its new expansion SR 1.5 billion plan in Jubail city today. The plan signals a growth into new downstream methanol based products. It also includes the creation of a captive methanol production capability.
Chemanol is a private sector enterprise. It is a major producer and international supplier of premium grade formaldehyde and formaldehyde derivatives, super plasticizers and various resins. Chemanol’s products have great diversity in usage. Agricultural fertilizers, Pharmaceuticals, Paper Manufacturing and the construction industry are some of the examples amongst the 27 industries in which Chemanol products are currently used.
Chemanol was originally founded as the Saudi Formaldehyde Chemical Company Limited (SFCCL) by Mazen Khalifa Allahiq Alnaimi who, in the mid 1980s, recognized that there was no formaldehyde production in Saudi Arabia and that, since this chemical is a second-generation product of the Kingdom's petrochemical industry, there was huge potential for a formaldehyde production facility.
Other founding shareholders include Al Zamil Group Holding Co. and Y. B. A. Kanoo Co. of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Fahd Al-Nafisi of Kuwait, Al-Mazrui Holding Co. of the UAE, Mohammed Jalal & Sons of Bahrain and Mr. Mohammed Al Mana of Qatar.
The production facility is a petrochemical complex located in Al Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. Plant operations began in 1992 when annual output was 20,000 metric tons. Today, this has reached 250,000 metric tons, a growth figure achieved by 13 new plant expansions in the company's 15 year history, leading to revenues that are in the region of US$ 100 million a year. Employing more than 160 personnel, the Jubail plant supplies its products to customers in 45 countries for use in 21 different industries.
The company is committed to advancing its leading position in the specialist chemicals industry and invests in and undertakes primary research and development to produce tailor-made product formulations that meet specified customer requirements, particularly in the field of resins. In-house research has facilitated development of several special product grades which reside in the domain of guarded technology.
Chemanol is a name constructed from the phrase “Chemicals from Methanol”. It emphasizes that the Chemanol is a specialist chemicals company that derives its products from Methanol.
With the new name “Chemanol,” a SR 1.5 billion growth and expansion plan is underway which, when completed by 2008, will enable an annual production capacity of 1,000,000 metric tons of formaldehyde, derivatives, and other downstream methanol based products. The production process will be fed by a newly created captive capacity of methanol of approximately 200,000 tons a year. When fully operational, Chemanol will be one of the world's biggest producers of formaldehyde.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
