Alpek's newly acquired rPET facility to start production in Q3 2021

According to reports, Alpek expects to complete the commissioning of its recycled PET plant in Reading, Pennsylvania and start production in the third quarter of 2021
.

Alpek's U.
S.
subsidiary, DAK Americas, bought the facility for $98.
1 million in late May at an auction in the bankruptcy of California recycled PET producer Carbonite
.

The recycling and pelletizing facility is one of the largest in the Americas for recycling PET and is capable of producing food-grade pellets, Valdez said
.

Valdez said the acquisition brings Alpek's total recycled PET capacity to 282,000 tonnes, reaffirming its position as the largest PET recycler in the Americas and achieving the company's goal of delivering 25% rPET content to its customers by 2025 target
.

Thailand-based Indorama Ventures, the world's largest virgin PET maker, bought CarbonLite's Dallas, Texas rPET plant for $63.
87 million in a bankruptcy auction, while a subsidiary of Houston private equity firm Sterling Group Company TGS Shelf II Acquisition LLC acquired a third CarbonLite plant in Riverside, California, for an auction price of $57.
5 million, according to bankruptcy records
.

Indorama, one of Alpek's partners, has a large PET/purified terephthalic acid complex awaiting further construction near Corpus Christi, Texas
.
Valdez said on July 22 that he had no updates on the project, which will undergo a cost review in 2021
.
Alpek, Indorama and their partner Far Eastern New Century aim to finalize engineering and construction contracts by the end of the year, so that construction can begin in early 2022
.

The project includes a 1.
1 million t/y PET unit and an upstream 1.
3 million t/y PTA unit
.
The three companies bought the unfinished project in 2018 for $1.
25 billion from the bankruptcy of former owner M&G Chemicals
.

They have since assessed the cost of restarting construction that M&G halted in October 2017, efforts that were halted in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions
.

When an analyst asked if Alpek would buy a larger stake and go ahead if one or both partners decided not to go ahead with the project, Valdez said the company would consider those options if that were the case
.

Valdez noted that demand for virgin PET and PP produced by Alpek has been further boosted as the global economy has been bolstered by improved market confidence due to Covid-19 vaccination
.

CFO Jose Carlos Pons De La Garza added: "Alpek has sold 1.
2 million tonnes during this period, a historic record for the second quarter and an 8% year-on-year increase
.
"

Sales in the company's plastics and chemicals division were up 45% year over year, while sales in the polyester division were up 1%
.