OREANDA-NEWS. SIBUR, a leading Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company, and the German chemicals giant BASF signed a Long-Term Cooperation Memorandum to supply additives used for polymer production and processing at SIBUR’s production facilities.

The agreement was signed by Oleg Makarov, SIBUR’s Managing Director, and Sergey Andreev, Head of BASF in Russia and CIS.

The deal provides for supplies of additives used to produce polypropylene, polyethylene, synthetic rubbers, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and ABS plastics at SIBUR's production facilities, with BASF ensuring also technical support. Additives help to protect polymers from harmful temperature, mechanical or light exposure.

“SIBUR is continuously working to improve the quality of its products to better serve its customers’ needs. We are happy to have signed the cooperation agreement with BASF, a recognised global leader in production of additives for polymers,” Oleg Makarov said. “Its wealth of experience and technical expertise in this segment will contribute to further quality improvements of SIBUR’s products.”

“As part of its new strategy in the Russian and CIS markets, BASF is keen to step up its presence in the region including through joint projects with its customers. We have a long-standing partnership with SIBUR and hope that our cutting-edge products and solutions will contribute to our Russian partner’s further success in building up the range of its branded products,” Sergey Andreev said.

To maintain their positions in the market, SIBUR and BASF look to develop new, advanced materials; in particular, they plan to collaborate in projects with a view to improving properties of elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers. Additionally, there is a project in progress for SIBUR’s production of a new polypropylene product for nonwoven fabrics. Potential use of customer specific blends by BASF, which boost production efficiency and consistency of product quality, is under discussion.