INESS delays restart of Antwerp phenol plant

Share:

Recently, Inez Phenol confirmed that its plan to resume production of an idle phenol integrated plant with an annual production capacity of 680000 tons in Antwerp, Belgium, was postponed until 2027. Germany's old Gladbeck phenol plant was forced to postpone the shutdown, and the production capacity layout plan formulated by the enterprise in 2025 was completely reversed.

In June 2025, Inox Phenol had planned to permanently shut down Gladbeck's 650000-ton/year production capacity by the end of 2027, transferring all European regional production capacity to the Antwerp plant with supporting deep-aquatic environments terminals and updated facilities. The company informed internal employees of the adjustment plan this week, saying that the European phenol sector has continued to be under pressure in the past year and market fundamentals have not improved. The core incentives to delaying the resumption of production are global phenol overcapacity and shrinking downstream demand in Europe; overlaid with high energy costs and high carbon taxes in Europe, regional manufacturers have a significant cost disadvantage compared to their counterparts in Asia and the Middle East. Phenol downstream polycarbonate, bisphenol A major consumer market European automotive sector continued to weaken, a substantial number of overseas vehicle imports squeeze regional demand to raw materials, further dragging down phenol consumption.

A spokesman to Inox Phenol said that the global oversupply superimposed on weak end demand, European and American trade tariffs, downstream processing industries continue to relocate and other factors exacerbate the sector's plight. Due to EU energy and carbon taxes, it will be difficult to restart the Antwerp plant in 2027 to make a profit.

to this reason, the shutdown time limit of the Gladbeck factory has been postponed. The old plant, which was put into production in 1954, will continue to be supplied to existing customers in Europe. The enterprise will invest special funds to carry out targeted maintenance to ensure prolonged stable and safe production. The Antwerp plant will not restart production until 2028 at the earliest. At this stage, only warehousing, logistics and distribution business will be retained. At the same time, funds will be invested to maintain idle production lines and resume work rapidly after the market picks up.

Previous

The Market for Viscose Staple Fiber Saw a Slight Price Increase

Next

23.788 billion yuan! Great Wall Chemicals breaks ground on 800,000-ton coal-to-olefins project

Quick inquiry

Create

Inquiry Sent

We will contact you soon