Celanese Corporation

Celanese Corporation (sometimes known as Hoechst Celanese) is the largest producer of vinyl acetate monomer. It is one of the leaders in acetyl production and has a global production network in the Acetyl chain. Celanese products are used as intermediate chemicals in nearly all major industries. Recently, Celanese Corporation announced an important licensing agreement in China. Celanese has a presence in China through its fully-owned subsidiary Celanese Chemical Co. Ltd. based out of Nanjing. The licensing agreement is a tri-party deal that the company has signed with Chinese companies Southwest Institute of Chemical Co. Ltd. and Lunan Chemical Co. Ltd. The deal will involve Lunan building a pilot scale-up unit in Teng Zhou to test the industrial production of acrylic acid. Celanese has been working with Southwest Institute to jointly develop a new way of producing acrylic acid using acetic acid. The technology is based on Celanese’s proprietary research on the condensation of acetic formaldehyde. The PSU facility built by Lunan will complete commercial production trials and help Celanese further its value chain in the acetyls industry. It will also aid the organic growth of the acetic acid industry. According to John Fotheringham, Senior Vice President of Celanese’s Acetyls business, “The collaboration between Celanese and SWCHEM has enabled us to reach such a critical milestone in the development of this new technology to produce acrylic acid from acetic acid. This could create additional demand for acetic acid while also improving the supply options for acrylic acid consumers.” In other China-related Celanese news, the company has raised list and off-list prices of its acetyl intermediate products. Notable price increases include those for acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer, acetic anhydride, and vinyl-based emulsions. Celanese stock closed at $98.73 on 8th June 2020, up 19.35% for the past month.