Indonesia’s PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical and French tyre maker Michelin have completed construction at the new synthetic-rubber manufacturing site owned by the companies’ joint venture PT Synthetic Rubber Indonesia (SRI). The companies invested US$435 million into SRI. Michelin has a 55% shareholding and CAP, the remaining 45%.
Located in the Banten province of Indonesia, the SRI plant is the first of its kind in Indonesia to produce feedstock for environmentally friendly tyres using Michelin’s proprietary technology.
SRI produces polybutadiene rubber with neodymium catalyst and solution styrene butadiene rubber (S-SBR), both of which are utilised in the production of tyres. SRI’s feedstock is sourced from butadiene produced by CAP’s subsidiary, Petrokimia Butadiene Indonesia, which recently completed a large-scale expansion project.
The new plant’s total production capacity is expected to reach 120,000 tonnes/year. Production will begin at the end of August, with the first batch to be shipped to Michelin for further processing.