SABIC Completes Significant Updates to its PC Production Equipment

SABIC recently completed significant updates to the polycarbonate production equipment at it Mt. Vernon, Ind. facility that reportedly has made the plant safer, more sustainable, reliable and competitive across the industry. The facility successfully installed state-of-the-art membrane technology in its chlorine process, which is a key component to making SABIC’s Lexan PC products. This highly automated equipment uses smart technology to understand operating conditions and alerts operators or automatically shuts down if safety parameters are not met. It reduces safety risk 10 times, one of the foundations of all of SABIC’s business activities.

SABIC employed more than 600 contractors while decommissioning previous equipment, installing new equipment and recommissioning the chlorine process without a lost time incident, delivering an excellent OSHA (Occupational Safety Health Administration) safety record for the project. Besides lowering operating costs and ease of operation, SABIC expects to increase efficiency of its polycarbonate operations by 30 percent while yielding greenhouse-gas savings of up to 50,000 metric tons per year.

Established in 1960, the Mount Vernon technology and innovation hub is the largest SABIC facility in North and South America, with more than 1,200 employees across 1,140 acres. The site’s primary products include PC, PC/ABS, PEI and PBT to support key industries such as automotive, consumer goods, healthcare products and building/construction.