SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has announced that its SABIC SK Nexlene Company (SSNC) joint venture with SK Geo Centric (formerly SK Global Chemicals) in South Korea will expand the capacity of their plant in Ulsan for production of advanced material solutions using NEXLENE technology.

The plant, operated by Korea Nexlene Company (KNC), supports the production of SABIC’s broad portfolio of COHERE metallocene polyolefin plastomers (POP), SUPEER metallocene linear low density polyethylenes (mLLDPE) and FORTIFY polyolefin elastomers (POE).

The capacity expansion will become operational in the second quarter of 2024 to meet a growing demand for NEXLENE based polyolefin solutions in several differentiated high-end market segments. Target applications include encapsulant film for use in photovoltaics, enabling energy transition, as well as innovations in new mobility, lighter weight & resilient footwear applications and enhanced packaging solutions to reduce food wastage.

Sami Al-Osaimi, Vice President of PE & Sales, SABIC, and Board Chairman for SSNC said, “We have identified a strong trend towards customized and high-performance polyolefins, especially metallocene polyethylene materials, in several important new technology markets.” He added, “Our COHERE POP, SUPEER mLLDPE and FORTIFY POE polymers are ideally positioned to meet the needs of our global customers for enhanced toughness, flexibility, elasticity, heat-sealing properties, and optical properties, amongst others. The KNC plant capacity increase will provide the operational efficiency to boost the growth of these NEXLENE based materials. At the same time, it will give us a significant competitive edge to strengthen the market penetration of our brands.”

The innovative NEXLENE technology combines a bimodal solution process with a proprietary metallocene catalyst to yield state-of-the-art ethylene copolymers with tailored molecular weight distribution and modality.