Khaled Al-Mana On Sabic’s Culture of Innovation

Düsseldorf was buzzing at the end of October with hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world who came to Germany for the world's largest trade show for plastics and rubber, the K 2010. The show's organizers reported an excellent mood among the over 3,000 visitors, and the show itself exceeded industry expectations. One of the plastic industry heavyweights at the show was Saudi Arabia's SABIC, who used the show to showcase its theme "Culture of Innovation." Brandi Schuster and Michael Reubold caught up with SABIC's executive vice president for Polymers, Khaled Al-Mana, about his company's strategy to become the preferred world leader in chemicals and plastics.

CHEManager Europe: Mr. Al-Mana, what is your company's strategy for growth?

K. Al-Mana: Our theme, "Culture of Innovation" is built on four pillars: growth, technology, sustainability and customer focus.
In order to grow, it is important to be able to meet our customers' requirements - not just today, but also in the future. To this end, we continuously invest in expanding our global production capacity and adding new resources for technology in our key sectors.

Where have you recently expanded capacity?

K. Al-Mana: We added more than one million tons of polymer capacity at our plants in Sharq and Yansab, Saudi Arabia. We've also expanded high-density polyethylene production in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and we have opened a new low-density polyethylene facility in Wilton, UK. Of course, considerable capacity will be added when our plants at Saudi Kayan in Al-Jubail come online.

What are some examples of your technology activities in SABIC's key sectors?

K. Al-Mana: In early 2011, we will be adding state-of-the-art specialty polypropylene compounding to our site in Bay St. Louis in the U.S. in order to satisfy demand from the North American automobile sector. Also, our new Genk, Belgium, site - which is the largest Greenfield PP compounding plant ever built in Europe - will supply PP compounds to Europe and other composites to Europe and Asia. In addition, our Teeside, UK, plant has the largest name plate capacity of its kind in the world - 400 kt/y - and targets growing customer needs in packaging applications with LDPE.

Sustainability has been THE industry buzzword this year. What initiatives have SABIC taken?

K. Al-Mana: Global sustainability issues are at the core of our business strategy, and we are committed to maximizing the usefulness of natural resources. Customers have told us that they want products that cut manufacturing energy costs; that reduce the weight of their products; and that can be easily recycled or that include recycled materials. To this end, we have introduced our SABIC Sustainability Portfolio, which is designed to help customers lower their carbon and energy footprints, eliminate waste and ensure compliance with global regulations.

Eastman just announced to sell its PET business. Dow and BASF have both restructured and spun off their polystyrene businesses. Do you think the polymers producers have a need for further consolidation? Where will this consolidation leave the top polymers manufacturers and what part will SABIC play in the next M&A phase?

K. Al-Mana: We are open to any opportunities. As you know, we are living in a very dynamic world where uncertainty is very high. We are always looking for growth in a profitable way, not just growth itself. Any opportunity that comes along that fits with our strategy, regardless of whether it's PET or polystyrene, we will consider it.