Trinseo has finally decided to stop producing styrene at its Böhlen site in Germany, saying the plant – producing about 300,000 t/y – is too small to be competitive on the global market with current high gas prices and new styrene capacity additions sealing the unit’s fate.
The European Commission has fined five companies a total of €157 million for forming a styrene cartel that operated from May 2012 to June 2018. Affected are Sunpor, Synbra, Synthomer, Synthos and Trinseo. As the member that blew the whistle in 2017, Ineos escaped a fine.
Trinseo is once again looking at the potential closure of its loss-making styrene production plant in Böhlen, Germany and is consulting with the local works council.
