The ORLEN Unipetrol Group continues modernising and streamlining its production technologies. As part of its commitment to innovations and sustainable production, the company launched a brand-new unit producing dust-free stabilisation mixtures in its Litvínov plant. The investment of CZK 225 million will significantly streamline the production of polyethylene and polypropylene. A dust-free stabilisation mixture contains several stabilising agents supplied as a powder and formed into a single dust-free form of pellets. This approach enhances the production process efficiency and the final product’s quality.
The production unit for dust-free stabilisation mixtures has two production lines with a total annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes. This output will increase the production capacity of dust-free mixtures seven-fold. Launching the company’s own production of dust-free stabilisation mixtures will streamline the production and keep the additives’ formula under internal control.
“Upgrading our production and migrating to our own production of dust-free mixtures significantly reduces our production costs and allows us to react faster and more efficiently to market needs and customer requirements. It is a significant milestone in our sustainable development strategy and innovations,” explains Tomáš Herink, a member of the Board of Directors of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group. He adds: “The new production unit provides us with unique know-how and technology, which allows us to manufacture top-quality products with more precise dosing and without useless waste. The internal production of dust-free mixtures also gives us the freedom of being independent from external suppliers, which increases our resilience to market fluctuations and gives us an opportunity to address new customers and offer them this product’s excess volumes from our own production.”
The project of manufacturing dust-free stabilisation mixtures was developed in collaboration with the research and development centre of the ORLEN Polymer Institute Brno. It has long and successfully been involved in developing specialised additivation formulas for plastic products. Besides ensuring the high quality of final products, this approach guarantees dust-free handling of the material, which results in substantial cost cuts and improved occupational safety.
The new production unit will enable ORLEN Unipetrol, a leading producer of polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in the region, to fully cover its needs for polyolefin production, thus significantly improving the quality of its HDPE and PP classes. This investment will allow it to quickly react to market challenges and offer products that precisely meet customer specifications and requirements. The new unit producing dust-free stabilisation mixtures also represents a major move towards decarbonising ORLEN Unipetrol Group activities in line with the strategic goal of sustainable development and achieving the net zero target by 2050 at the latest.
The Group offers these products under commercial names HDPE LITEN and PP MOSTEN. Thanks to its non-polar character with high chemical resistance, HDPE LITEN can be used in the production of industrial components and structural elements. On the other hand, PP MOSTEN is highly solid, hard and resistant against abrasion, making it ideal for the production of various consumer goods, fibres and non-woven textiles, and the automotive industry.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the key players on the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN Benzina network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic and the ORLEN network in Slovakia and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs almost 6,000 people. ORLEN Unipetrol is also a socially responsible company, particularly in the areas of supporting sustainable development, education, local communities and the environment. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the ORLEN Group, the largest oil refiner in Central Europe.