How Alan Hirsig plans to play Arco chemical's strong hand

Journal Article · Wed Feb 17 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Chemical Week; (United States)

OSTI ID:6701794

Hunter, D

With 1992 net income up 4%, to $195 million. Arco Chemical (Newtown Square, PA) held its own in a year when many of its petrochemical industry peers were mauled again. Arco Chemical president and CEO Alan R. Hirsig talked recently with CW about his growth strategies for the company, and about progress with his Manufacturing Excellence initiative, lauched in the wake of the 1990 Channelview, TX tragedy. Riding on faster growth in the Asia region, Hirsig expects to see Arco's regional sales mix shift in the next three years and sales to grow from 1992's $3.1 billion to $4 billion/year. The foundation for that growth continues to be Arco's core proprietary technology competence for making propylene oxide (PO) with coproduction and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) - the key methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) feedstock, or styrene monomer. Arco claims a 28% share of world MTBE capacity, its 78,500-bbl/day capacity. He cites Jakarta, Bangkok, Mexico City, Milan, Turin, and Athens as examples of major cities where MTBE use in reformulated fuels is getting interest. Given what he views as Europe's traditional 10-year lag on the US in areas like catalytic mufflers and unleaded gasoline, he sees significant prospects in reformulated gasoline in that region in the coming years. Arco is also testing a proprietary TBA-based hydroperoxide in diesel fuels, which improves the cetane number and cleans up exhaust emissions, winning great interest in Tokyo. Also in the fuels area, Hirsig notes interest in ethyl tert-butyl ether production - which Arco launched in the US in December on a commercial scale - in France.

• OSTI ID: 6701794
• Journal Information: Chemical Week; (United States), Journal Name: Chemical Week; (United States) Vol. 152:6; ISSN CHWKA9; ISSN 0009-272X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020700* -- Petroleum-- Economics
Industrial
& Business Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ADDITIVES
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
ALCOHOLS
AUTOMOTIVE FUELS
EPOXIDES
ETHERS
FUEL ADDITIVES
FUELS
GROWTH
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INCOME
INDUSTRY
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
PRODUCTION
SALES