SABIC

May/June 2011 Issue 102

Chinaplas
Driving the unique
SABIC experience
CONTENTS

08 Agreements signed with King Abdullah University of Science 48 SABIC wins VNCI Responsible Care award
and Technology

04
NEWS
Round-up of news stories from SABIC
operations around the world
..............................................
14
COVER STORY
SABIC makes the best of the largest plastics and rubber trade fair
in Asia, projecting its innovation and sustainability edge through
the new Range Rover Evoque and leveraging the event to reach
out to internal and external stakeholders
..............................................

General Supervisor:
24 EXHIBITIONS & CONFERENCES
GPCA Plastics Summit honors downstream innovators in
the region; SABIC announces new partnership and product
Mohamed H. Al-Mady innovations at VDI Conference in Germany; Boao Forum for Asia
Vice Chairman and CEO Conference 2011, SABIC reiterates commitment to the idea of
Editor-in-Chief: inclusive growth
Samir A. Al-Abdrabbuh ................................................................

38
Vice President
Corporate Communications SUCCESS STORY
Acting Managing Editor: China’s Leedarson blazes trail in LED bulbs using LNP* Konduit*
Vinod Menon Compound
Media & External Communications .................................................................
Contributions to SABIC magazine are welcome and may be
sent to: vinodm@sabic.com. 40 CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
SABIC staff in India lend a helping hand to communities; SABIC
Articles and letters received may be edited for length and scholars attend an orientation program as they set out to study
clarity. Every effort has been made to report accurate infor- in the US
mation in this publication. However, neither SABIC nor the .................................................................

44
publishers vouch for its accuracy, neither do they indemnify
any loss arising through the use of the information. The
views or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect
those of SABIC or the publisher.
BEHIND THE SCENES
EMDAD, SABIC’s supply chain project, implements new
Performance Management system
.................................................................

48
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, P.O. Box 5101
Riyadh 11422, Saudi Arabia. RESPONSIBLE TRANSPORTATION
SABIC wins the Dutch chemical industry Responsible Care
award as new transportation safety efforts and new Rail Tank
Cars (RTCs) result in reduced risks, lower carbon footprint and
Published by enhanced customer satisfaction levels
.................................................................

52 LIFESTYLE
Home gyms are becoming increasingly popular, driven by long-
term cost savings and convenience of working out at home
.................................................................

Project Manager: Khaled Al-Masri

Group Editor: K. Krishnakumar
Senior Graphic Designer: Hussain Mohamed Al-Bakri
PO Box 301292, Riyadh 11372, Tel:+966 (1) 462 3632,
Email: info@alefinernational.com
©2011 Alef Publishing & Media
Reprinting in whole or in part is prohibited by law
except with the prior written approval of the publisher.

02 SABIC May/June 2011

FOREWORD
It has been another season of major, positive announcements and
developments at SABIC. As an effective channel of communication that
brings together business and management news from around the world,
the SABIC magazine has become a source of inspiration and confidence for
our internal and external readers. This is because the magazine provides a
regular update on where our operations and businesses are headed, what
the company and its affiliates are achieving in their journey and how new
strategies are taking shape to help SABIC accomplish its grander vision.
In the News section, we report SABIC’s record Second Quarter earnings,
put in perspective by Vice Chairman and CEO Mohamed Al-Mady who
offers several insights into SABIC’s business and its challenges while
analyzing the financial results. Another report is about the agreements
between SABIC and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST) to advance research and innovation. It is also heartening to
note that SABIC has been recognized as one of the best employers in
Netherlands and China.
SABIC’s leadership position in the world of chemicals business, technology
and innovation was obvious at Chinaplas, as explained in the Cover
Story. SABIC’s senior leaders spent an entire week in China participating
in activities that underlined the company’s commitment to China and
Asia. Months prior to this leading global industry event in Guangzhou,
Guangdong, SABIC had a major presence at the prestigious Boao Forum
for Asia Conference 2011, where Al-Mady reiterated the company’s
commitment to inclusive growth. The Boao feature focuses on what this
inclusive growth will mean for the world, and how SABIC will help push that
agenda.
SABIC has been a key founding member of the Gulf Petrochemicals and
Chemicals Association (GPCA), which launched the first regional plastics
innovation awards at the recent GPCA Plastics Summit. The inaugural
awards given at the summit were bagged by four downstream converters,
which underline the fact that the region is ready for innovation. At another
event, the VDI Conference in Germany, SABIC once again showed its
strengths as a provider of innovative plastics for
the automobile industry. Both events are covered
under Exhibitions and Conferences.
As we were wrapping up the edition, we received
news that the Dutch chemical industry has
honored SABIC with its Responsible Care award
for 2011. The award is a recognition of new
initiatives at SABIC in Europe that are helping the
company’s chemicals and polymers businesses to
reduce their carbon footprint while at the same
time strengthen customer satisfaction levels.
Titled Responsible Transportation, the feature
highlights the advantages of introducing a modern
fleet of Rail Tank Cars to ferry chemicals and
intermodal transport to deliver polymers. Behind
the Scenes shows us how Business Intelligence
and Data Quality are being leveraged to enhance
Performance Management.
SABIC employees in India, supported by the
management, have been lending a helping hand
to communities in need. The CSR section provides
a glimpse of their efforts, while also updating us
about a new batch of SABIC scholars studying
overseas.
Editor-in-Chief
May/June 2011 SABIC 03
SABIC NEWS

SABIC reports record profits for Q2

We are committed to performance reliability and
operations efficiency, says Al-Mady

Mohamed Al-Mady, attributed to a boost Mady said that the state economic variables,
SABIC Vice Chairman in sales volumes and of the global economy with the construction
and CEO, said that the higher prices for some cannot be linked directly and building industry
company’s results for products, leading to to conditions in the being the most affected
the Second Quarter increased net income for petrochemical industry. sector, he said.
2011 has exceeded the company. He added The market is governed The Second Quarter
the expectations of that the volatile global by supply and demand, results show a marked
economic analysts, economic changes did and there is a scarcity improvement from
thanks to the efforts not have any impact on of some commodities the previous Quarter
of employees and the SABIC’s operations for in the market such and confirm that the
various programs that several reasons. They as fertilizers, which diversity of SABIC’s
have been initiated include the diversity of require concerted products reduces the
by the company over SABIC’s markets, and its efforts by countries to risks facing the market.
the years to transform proximity to customers feed the peoples of SABIC produces steel,
SABIC into a truly at locations where it the world. The same is fertilizers, polymers,
global company. produces, especially also true with the auto chemicals and value-
Speaking at a press in developing markets industry that is growing added performance
conference at SABIC such as China, India constantly and consumes chemicals. SABIC enjoys
headquarters in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. plastic materials. financial stability and its
on July 17, Al-Mady On the global This also holds good products are present
ABOVE AL-MADY ANSWERS pointed out that economic downturn with the electronics in diverse markets.
A QUESTION DURING THE
PRESS CONFERENCE IN RIYADH
these record results and its impact on the industry. All industries As regards the
ON July 17 reported by SABIC are petrochemical sector, Al- are impacted by the market’s concerns for

04 SABIC May/June 2011

 SABIC NEWS

rising steel prices, Al- “SABIC is be demanding, along to the net income of
Mady said that the prices committed to with the challenges SR 5.02 billion for the
are almost fixed despite of maintaining same quarter last year,
the increase in feedstock expansion into operations efficiency. representing an increase
prices. However, SABIC these new areas SABIC is focused on of 61 percent and
hopes that this does of specialized operations reliability compared to the net
not affect the company and high production income for first quarter
because if the feedstock materials, capacities, while of 2011 of SR 7.69
prices increase beyond particularly maintaining operational billion, representing an
reasonable levels, SABIC synthetic fibers, security, as reliability increase of 5 percent.
may be forced to raise is a commitment in all The gross operating
prices. The current which feed many company operations. profit for the Second
changes make the large industries, Other challenges, such Quarter ended June 30,
company hopeful of including aircraft, as technology and 2011, amounted to SR
maintaining growth and employee training, 16.49 billion, compared
continuing to achieve wind turbines, are issues that can to SR 11.85 billion for the
record results. Al-Mady sports products, be dealt with and same quarter last year,
confirmed that SABIC automobiles managed, he said. representing an increase
continues to grow and In answer to a of 39 percent. The
make new investments. and electronics” question on the income from operations
Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC
It has new projects problems faced by some for the second quarter of
Vice Chairman and CEO
coming up in 2012-2015. companies with the this year amounts to SR
Speaking about Ministry of Commerce 13.28 billion, compared
Performance Chemicals, and Industry on steel to SR 9.14 billion for
Al-Mady pointed out prices and SABIC’s stand the same quarter last
that SABIC is expanding on this issue, Al-Mady year, representing an
its basic chemicals said that supply and increase of 45 percent.
line to produce demand are subject The net income for
high performance circumstances. Egypt to many variables the six months ended
materials. Strategic is a large country and including feedstocks. It June 30, 2011, amounts
agreements have been its needs are large. is necessary to achieve to SR 15.79 billion,
finalized with partners We are ready to meet a balance between the compared to SR 10.45
including Mitsubishi these needs if we public interest and the billion for the same
Rayon, Montefibre, feel that there are interests of operating period in the preceding
Exxon Mobil, Lurgi real opportunities.” companies. At present, year, representing an
and Asahi, to produce Al-Mady attributed there is a production increase of 51 percent.
Methyl Methacrylate, the company’s record shortfall, he said, which The earnings per share
Polymethylmethacrylate, results to the increasing makes it difficult to for the six months
Carbon Fiber, Elastomers demand for SABIC’s achieve a balance. ended June 30, 2011
and Sodium Cyanide. products, increased The consumer may be amounted to SR 5.26,
Al-Mady said, “SABIC is production and sales, affected by this scarcity compared to SR 3.48
committed to expansion and improved prices. of products. SABIC for the same period
into these new areas of SABIC constantly continues its efforts to in the previous year.
specialized materials, studies the market, achieve this balance The gross operating
particularly synthetic and is committed to through operations of its profit for the six months
fibers, which feed strong performance plants at full capacity. It ended June 30, 2011,
many large industries, and to reliable and safe is expected to step up was SR 31.92 billion,
including aircraft, operations, meeting production capacities compared to SR 24.05
wind turbines, sports all safety standards. of steel soon by nearly billion for the same
products, automobiles These are all important one million tons, which period the previous year,
and electronics.” elements to continued would decrease the representing an increase
On SABIC’s success, he said. effect of the crisis of 33 percent. The
investments in the On challenges for and prevent impact income from operations
Egyptian market, Al- the future, Al-Mady on prices, he said. for the six months ended
Mady said, “We have said that sustaining SABIC announced its June 30, 2011, was SR
no production plants growth and constantly financial results for the 25.78 billion, compared
in Egypt, but we have achieving better results 2Q 2011 on July 16. It to SR 18.84 billion for the
a sales office. We face remains the company’s reported net income same period the previous
no obstacles there biggest challenge. The of SR 8.1 billion for the year, representing an
under the prevailing market continues to 2Q 2011, compared increase of 37 percent.

May/June 2011 SABIC 05

SABIC NEWS

SABIC-Mitsubishi Rayon venture to

build MMA and PMMA plants
SABIC and Mitsubishi
Rayon Company (MRC)
have announced the
formation of a 50-50
joint venture company,
to build and operate
two plants – one for
Methyl Methacrylate
(MMA), and the other for
Polymethylmethacrylate
(PMMA) – at one of SABIC’s
manufacturing affiliates
in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
The MMA plant will be
the largest ever built, with
a 250,000-metric-ton
annual capacity. It will use
Lucite International’s (LI)
Alpha technology, which
was first commercialized
with its Alpha 1 plant
which began operation in
Singapore in November
2008. LI is a subsidiary
of MRC acquired in
2009. The PMMA plant
will be based on MRC
technology and will have
an annual capacity of
40,000 metric tons.
The new partnership
will enable SABIC
broaden its specialty
portfolio by drawing
on the technological
expertise of MRC. MRC,
the global leader in the
methacrylates industry,
will strengthen its
leadership position by
utilizing readily available
raw materials in Saudi
Arabia and building up a
new production facility in
the Middle East region.
Commenting on the
partnership deal, Koos
Van Haasteren, SABIC
Executive Vice President,
Performance Chemicals,
said the joint venture
operation will be the
basis for SABIC’s entry
into the acrylics business.
“We will be building
on a breakthrough
technology, with a
strong partnership and
integrated feedstock,”
he said. “Moreover, the
global market for MMA
is growing at a rapid
pace. New applications
are driving this increase
in demand and we are
committed to meeting
our customer growth
requirements worldwide”.
Masanao Kambara, MRC
President, commented,
“This partnership with
SABIC will help us to
meet long term supply
commitments to
our MMA and PMMA
customers. As the
global leader we have a
responsibility to ensure
reliability of supply and
this investment will enable
us to deliver continuous
improvement.”
The MMA/PMMA joint
venture will introduce
new high-value products,
manufactured for the
first time in the Middle
East. These will diversify
materials used in
industrial clusters, thus
allowing expansion and
further diversification in
Saudi Arabia’s industrial
sector, creating new
opportunities in the
downstream industries
such as construction,
automotive, electronics,
medical technologies
and appliances.

Al-Mady honors EHSS award winners

Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman and
CEO, recently inaugurated the Environment,
Health, Safety, Security and Reliability Day
2010 in Jubail, and honored the award winning
affiliates. The event was jointly organized by SABIC
Corporate Control and SABIC Manufacturing.
The Gold Award went to UNITED, which was
received by its President, Ahmed Al-Sheikh; the Silver
went to PETROKEMIA, received by its President,
Omar Al-Amoudi; and the Bronze went to SAFCO,
received by its President, Fahad Al-Otaibi.
In the Reliability Awards category, AL-BAYRONI won
the Gold, received by its President, Ahmed Al-Jabr;
HADEED won the Silver, received by its President,
Hassan Al-Ghannam; and PETROKEMYA won the
Bronze, received by its President, Omar Al-Amoudi.
Al-Mady also presented Reliability certificates
to other deserving affiliates, and handed
over the EHSS awards to contractors.
The Day included several lectures in the field of
industrial safety and environment, and the awarding
of the SABIC EHSS & Reliability Awards to the winning
affiliates and contractors, which had achieved outstanding
performance in these vital areas over the past year.
In his inaugural address, Al-Mady reminded
participants about the new challenges that the world
is facing, including those related to environment
and sustainability. He stressed the need to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions and other substances
that resulted from alternative energy sources.
“SABIC’s goal is to further improve its EHSS record
and the reliability of its business because this is
the cornerstone of the company’s priorities to
improve the quality of its operations,” he said. Al-
Mady noted the steps taken by SABIC to improve
the reliability of plants, including the establishment
of a separate Manufacturing function.
Homood Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri, Executive Vice
President, Corporate Control and Chairman of the
Awards Evaluation Committee, and Mosaid Al-
Ohali, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing, and
Chairman of the SABIC Reliability Awards Program,
spoke at the event. The Day featured several expert
speakers who tackled subjects related to EHSS.

06 SABIC May/June 2011

 SABIC NEWS

Asia Pacific VP tours India

SABIC Asia Pacific Vice than 1,000 customers. SABIC established its Mumbai, Bangalore,
President Ahmed Alumar The petrochemicals first office in New Delhi Chennai and Pune,
recently visited India. sector is ripe with in 1994. SABIC’s success two major Technology
Between February 20 opportunities and SABIC is not just about the and Innovation centers
and 25, Alumar visited is well-positioned to crackers, resins, polymers in the country in
New Delhi, Mumbai and capture the growth and chemicals, but its Bangalore and Vadodara,
Vadodara, meeting with momentum with its real assets in India the a manufacturing
SABIC India employees, plans for further global people. SABIC employs plant in Vadodara
customers, business expansion. In particular, 530 people in India. and 11 warehouses
partners, government SABIC is looking for local The Asia Pacific VP’s across the country.
representatives and the
media. He was jointly
hosted by Venugopal
Koka, Head of SABIC
Innovative Plastics in
India, Bharat Tandon,
President, SABIC India
and M. R. Ansari, Head
of SABIC Technology &
Innovation, Vadodara.
Alumar also addressed
200 industry players at left The SABIC delegation met
with senior Indian government
the 4th Indian Chemical officials from the Ministry
Industry Outlook of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
From left: G.V. Ramgopal, VP
Conference. During the Polymers, SABIC India; M Raman
tour, he emphasized Secretary Department of
Chemicals & Petrochemicals,
SABIC’s focus on Ahmed Alumar, Suresh C Gupta,
building partnerships Joint Secretary, Chemicals &
Petrochemicals, Venugopal
that result in mutual Koka, Arora R K, Vice President-
benefits by leveraging Polymer Sales SABIC India
growth opportunities
in the booking Indian partners to share its engagement with the
economy, which has expertise for the benefit Business Standard,
grown at an average 8 of the Indian market. Chemical Weekly and
percent in recent years. At the three employee Chemical Week resulted
SABIC has achieved townhall meetings where in positive coverage
strong double-digit the mood was upbeat about SABIC’s growth
rates of growth over the and lively, Alumar spoke plans in the country.
past 10 years in India, about SABIC’s 30-year SABIC India has offices
and now serves more trading history in India. in New Delhi, Gurgaon,

Samsung awarded SOCC project

Saudi Organometallic Chemicals
Company (SOCC), a joint
venture equally owned by
SABIC affiliate SPECIALTY CHEM
(Saudi Specialty Chemical
Company) and Albemarle
Netherlands B.V. (a wholly
owned subsidiary of Albemarle
Corporation), has announced
that Samsung Engineering
will provide engineering,
procurement, and construction
(EPC) services for the SOCC
aluminum alkyls manufacturing
facility in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
“SOCC is pleased with the
selection of Samsung,” says Al
Saurage, SOCC Executive General
Manager. “SOCC is assured of
quality design and construction
effort for this facility that will
supply a strategic product
supporting the polyolefin
industry of the region.”
Samsung will immediately
begin the detailed engineering
for the project in Seoul, Korea.
The manufacturing facility
will be constructed in Jubail
at the SPECIALTY CHEM site.

May/June 2011 SABIC 07

SABIC NEWS
BELOW Al-Mady and Choon
Fong Shih look on as Al-Ubaid
(right) and Samaha sign one of
the agreements
right KAUST and SABIC officials
pose for a group photo after
signing the four agreements
08 SABIC May/June 2011
SABIC, KAUST aim high
Agreements signed to build a new Research & Innovation Center, create a
SABIC Chair, support post-doctoral fellowships and organize joint research
SABIC has signed four cooperation program KAUST. The agreement the petrochemical
agreements with King sponsored by KAUST. signing took place industry innovative and
Abdullah University of Dr. Abdulrahman S. in the presence of competitive. SABIC
Science and Technology Al-Ubaid, Executive Vice Mohamed Al-Mady, is one of the most
(KAUST) covering President, Technology SABIC Vice Chairman important drivers of the
the development and Innovation (T&I), and CEO, along with a economic development
and ‘localization’ of signed the agreements delegation from SABIC’s in Saudi Arabia, and the
technology in Saudi on behalf of SABIC management and KAUST company has consistently
Arabia. The agreements and Professor Stefan senior management. sought to build a
will help to advance Catsicas, KAUST Provost Commenting on robust Research and
the technology and and Dr. Mohamed the agreements, Technology program.
innovation strategy Samaha, Senior Vice Al-Mady underlined SABIC seized the
pursued by SABIC President for Economic the importance of opportunity to join
as well as enhance and Technology investing in Research and KAUST’s economic
the comprehensive Development, signed for Development in keeping cooperation program,
 SABIC NEWS

which encourages to address significant are related to SABIC’s the two sides on all “I hope that
research collaboration, challenges in water, business. Most of these matters related to KAUST’s
provides training for food, energy and the investigative areas the management of
its members and sets environment sectors. are long-term and are research projects and talented
the stage for effective I hope that KAUST’s intended to benefit associated intellectual students and
economic cooperation talented students and SABIC and Saudi Arabia property rights. outstanding
both at home and outstanding faculty in line with the vision of KAUST is an
abroad. This initiative will be key contributors the Saudi Government international, graduate faculty
will involve several to SABIC’s efforts to and its goal to diversify research university will be key
partners who have the generate s cientific revenue sources – as committed to advancing contributors to
productive and creative and technological well as serving the science and technology
capacities to establish innovations for the Saudi interests of the region through trans-disciplinary SABIC’s efforts
the Kingdom as a world- Arabian economy.” and the world. research, education to generate
class center for science Explaining the scope Al-Ubaid indicated and innovation. The scientific and
and technology. “As we of the agreements in that KAUST’s Provost University’s unique
significantly upgrade detail, Al-Ubaid said will be responsible for matrix structure technological
our domestic research that the first agreement identifying suitable supports basic and innovations
capabilities, we hope to is for the construction candidates for these goal-oriented research for the Saudi
champion a scientific and of a SABIC Research fellowships. Candidates in the globally significant
technological culture and Innovation Center will be reviewed by areas of energy, water, Arabian
throughout the Kingdom at KAUST, at a cost of SABIC, with awards food and environment economy”
that delivers a range US$150 million as a first decided jointly by to benefit Saudi Arabia Choon Fong Shih , KAUST
of job opportunities stage of the company’s SABIC and KAUST. and beyond. Located President
for generations to tie-up with the He pointed out that on the Red Sea, KAUST
come,” Al-Mady said. university. The second these fellowships will is the realization of a
KAUST President agreement concerns the focus on such areas as decade-long vision of
Choon Fong Shih added: financing of a Polymer new and renewable the Custodian of the
“The four SABIC-KAUST Catalysis Research energy (especially solar Two Holy Mosques,
agreements will help Chair for five years to energy), water research King Abdullah Bin
both organizations be disbursed at the (desalination and Abdulaziz Al Saud. The
fulfill our missions of rate of US$1 million per treatment), advanced University is governed
harnessing science year, with a cumulative materials, renewable by an independent,
and technology for total of US$5 million. feedstocks, catalysis, self-perpetuating
the benefit to the The third agreement scientific computational Board of Trustees
people of Saudi Arabia is for supporting post- services, materials and supported by a
and beyond. SABIC’s doctoral fellowships, engineering, nano- generous endowment.
support of KAUST through which SABIC technology and others. KAUST’s inaugural
research, education will support the work The fourth agreement class of 300 master’s
and innovation will be of 10 to 15 researchers organizes the joint students graduated
important for our efforts in research areas that research work between December 2010.

May/June 2011 SABIC 09

SABIC NEWS

New office in Barcelona

SABIC Marketing Ibérica focusing on the Iberian for Spain and Portugal. BELOW Five-year-old, Mireia, contribution on HR
daughter of Commercial
and SABIC IP Espaٌa markets, business Sales staff of both Assistant, Isabel Garcia was
integration rounded off
are now operating performance, the teams also presented given the special task of the program followed
presenting the scissors to
from a single office challenges in 2011 and three product synergy the senior executives at the
by an open discussion.
in Barcelona. Senior the economic outlook case studies. A ribbon cutting ceremony Commenting on the
executives from Sittard event, Daniel Gambus,
and Bergen op Zoom Sales Office Captain
who attended the SABIC Spain and Hector
celebrations marking Mas, Global Product
the opening of the Marketing Manager
office included Huub SABIC Innovative Plastics
Meessen, Vice President said: “Having one office
Europe, Hubert Guth, brings a lot of benefits.
Director Sales Offices Our customers will
Europe, Bas Blom, benefit from the close
General Manager collaboration between
Europe, Automotive our teams. We’ll be
EMEA and Caspar able to meet regularly,
Kramers, HR Manager share information and
SABIC Innovative leads and provide
Plastics. comprehensive
After an informal solutions which will
lunch, there was a mean growth for SABIC
series of presentations Europe.”

Contracts awarded for elastomers project

Saudi Basic Industries
Corporation (SABIC) and
affiliates of ExxonMobil Chemical
announced that Front-End
Engineering Design (FEED)
contracts were awarded and
that all components are in
FEED phase for the proposed
new elastomers project at
their Al-Jubail Petrochemical
Company (KEMYA)* joint
venture petrochemical plant.
FEED contracts were awarded
to Jacobs Engineering Inc. and
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding
for process units and to Fluor
Transworld Services Inc. for
associated support facilities.
“This elastomers project will
be the basis for the creation of
a world-class rubber value chain
in Saudi Arabia and a valuable
extension of our offering of
products and services to our
customers in key markets,”
said Koos van Haasteren, SABIC
executive vice president,
Performance Chemicals.
“In addition to supporting
local industry, the expansion at
the KEMYA joint venture in Al-
Jubail would provide additional
new capacity of butyl rubber
and EPDM (ethylene propylene
diene monomer) specialty
elastomers to meet the growing
global demand for these
products,” said Neil Chapman,
senior vice president, Polymers,
ExxonMobil Chemical Company.
The project is expected
to establish a domestic
supply of more than 400,000
metric tons of rubber[butyl,
styrene butadiene rubber
(SBR), butadiene rubber (BR)
and EPDM], thermoplastic
specialty polymers and carbon
black to serve emerging local
and international markets
in Asia and the Middle East.
The project also includes the
establishment of a vocational
training center and product
application development
and support center, aligned
with Saudi Arabia’s National
Industrial Clusters Development
Program to grow and
diversify the manufacturing
sector in Saudi Arabia.
Third-party license
agreements have been signed
with Continental Carbon
Company for its carbon
black production technology
and with The Goodyear
Tire & Rubber Company for
its SBR and polybutadiene
rubber technology.
The University of Akron
Research Foundation was
selected to design, train and
support the vocational training
center, The High Institute for
Elastomer Industries* , in Yanbu,
Saudi Arabia. The training
center will utilize the University’s
expertise in polymer science and
education to provide elastomers
technology vocational training
for workers to support
a planned downstream
elastomers conversion
industry in Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, a separate
product application
development and support
center will be part of the new
SABIC facilities at the Riyadh
Techno Valley research complex
at King Saud University.
The final decision to
implement the elastomers
project requires the approval
of KEMYA’s Board of Directors.

10 SABIC May/June 2011

 SABIC NEWS

‘Best employer’ recognition

SABIC has been named proud of,” says Evers. Companies were given companies, highlights be a top employer in
one of the best “This year we share the a star-based rating, opportunities for the China and I dedicate
organizations to work for fourth position in the with a maximum of five Human Resources staff this award to all our
in the Netherlands and ranking which is very stars for each criterion. in Europe to benchmark employees. Our people
China. The recognition positive. And compared SABIC scored full five and review SABIC’s HR are the key driver of
from CRF (Corporate to 2010, there is very in two categories practices on a more SABIC’s success as a top
Research Foundation) little difference between (Secondary Employment detailed level, while global petrochemical
is based on the results the companies in the Conditions and Career discussing possibilities company, and we offer
of its independent top five positions.” Opportunities), 4.5 in for improvement at our employees not just
survey into the human This year, the two categories (Primary the same time. a job, but a place where
resource management criteria for selection Employment Conditions “So, one of the main they can develop and
strategy and leadership were changed to and Organizational benefits of the top grow their career.”
performance of differentiate between Culture) and 3.5 for employer certification The certification
employers. is that it helps us ensure process affirmed that
In the Netherlands, we have ‘important SABIC employees are
SABIC has won the basics’ in place in our happy at work and have
recognition for the organization that help excellent opportunities
fifth consecutive year. us attract, develop to acquire knowledge
Commenting on the and retain our talent,” and further advance
significance of the CRF says Evers. “And having their career. In addition,
recognition, Michiel a strong employer with SABIC’s Talent
Evers, Global and brand is a key factor for Review Process, and the
European Recruiting & ensuring SABIC’s success leadership’s commitment
Staffing Leader, said: within our sector.” on talent development,
“Being selected means The China’s Top employees can
that we can use the Employers 2011 realize their personal
Top Employer quality primary and secondary one criterion (Learning certification, also and developmental
label in the Netherlands employment conditions and Development). conducted by the CRF objectives at work.
for the entire year. It’s and the influence of CRF does not aim to Institute, rated SABIC Eduardo Pérez-
a valuable and visible work atmosphere just rank companies highly in four areas: Cejuela, HR Director
sign for young, job- and corporate culture based on the scores Benefits, Working Asia Pacific, said: “This
seeking professionals over other criteria. they achieve in the Conditions, Learning award underscores
that SABIC offers good The CRF research and survey, but recognizes and Development, and SABIC’s success in
employment conditions.” audit specialists also employers’ success Company Culture. attracting and retaining
The CRF has selected focused this time on the in creating a culture Commenting on this highly educated
SABIC as one of the differences between leading to an excellent first-time achievement, Li professionals, as well
top employers in the HR policies on paper work environment. Lei, SABIC Vice President as our strong focus on
Netherlands for five versus practice. The feedback on how and Head of Greater talent management
consecutive years. “It’s SABIC performed well SABIC is doing, in China Region, said: and development
a record we can be in all five categories. comparison with other “We are very proud to within the company.

SAP helps integration in China

SABIC Greater China recently
celebrated the implementation
of SAP. The achievement is
already helping SABIC Greater
China to provide better
customer service as the
processes and systems are now
fully integrated with those of
its two key partners, SINOPEC
SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co.
Ltd (SSTPC) and Fujian Refining
and Petrochemicals (FREP).
Speaking at the celebrations
to mark the milestone,
Li Lei, Vice President and
Head of the Greater China
Region, emphasized the
need to remain customer-
focused all the time. “I am
greatly impressed with this
comprehensive and speedy
implementation. My heartiest
congratulations and thanks go
to the implementation teams,
especially the project leaders.”
Mohammed Khraizah, SSTPC
and FREP IT Project Manager,
noted: “It adds greater
business value and efficiency
to our partnership with our
two important partners, and
provides visibility across the
entire supply chain.” Salah
Al-Ghamdi, SABIC’s Project
Manager on site said the
achievement would not have
been possible without the
dedication and commitment
of everyone involved in the
project.

May/June 2011 SABIC 11

SABIC NEWS

SABIC receives Chinese delegation

A delegation from the collaboration. Apart construction and science number of economic
Zhejiang Province in from senior government & technology industries. and technological
China visited SABIC officials, the delegation The delegation was development zones, as
headquarters in Riyadh also comprised high led by Gong Zheng, well as manufacturing
on March 12 to learn profile executives of Vice Governor of the industries. It has
more about the company diverse industries such Zhenjiang Provincial been acknowledged
and to identify areas as the automotive, People’s Government. to be one of China’s
of potential business manufacturing, The province hosts a richest provinces.

right Zhejiang Province

delegation at the SABIC
Permanent Exhibition

Fertilizers SBU leaders tour Asia

Fahad Al-Sheaibi, Phosphates, and Fahad to strengthen strategic establishing partnerships
Executive Vice bin Hamad Al-Dubayan, customer relationships. in technology and
President, Fertilizers General Manager, They explored innovation.
SBU, accompanied by Urea, visited fertilizer new opportunities The program included
Ahmed bin Mishbib customers in Taiwan, in agricultural and a reception for customers
Al-Qahtani, General Thailand and South Korea industrial sectors in Thailand, which is one
Manager, Ammonia and between March 7 and 12 and the possibility of of the largest markets for
SABIC in the region.
The delegation also
comprised NG Boon
Howe and Abdulrahman
Al-Mulhem from Asia
Pacific Fertilizers Sales,
Singapore, and Ahmed
bin Eid, Urea Sales.

LEFT Al-Sheaibi and the

Fertilizers team pose with
their hosts after one of their
meetings during their three-
nation tour of Asia

12 SABIC May/June 2011

 SABIC NEWS

SABIC, Ma’aden celebrate ammonia

shipment from Ras Al-Zur port
SABIC and Ma’aden
held a function on
March 2 to celebrate
the first shipment of
12,000 metric tons of
ammonia produced at
the Ma’aden Phosphate
Company from Ras
Al-Zur Port to east Asia
markets. The ceremony
was attended by
Abdulaziz M. Al-Tuwejri,
President of Saudi Ports
Authority, Khalid S.
Al-Medaifer, Executive
President of Ma’aden,
Abdullah A. Al-Baker,
Vice President, Fertilizers,
Jubail, the directors of
King Fahd Industrial and
Commercial Ports in
Jubail and several other
high-ranking civilian
and military officials.
In a message to mark
the occasion, Mohamed
Al-Mady, SABIC Vice
Chairman and CEO,
expressed his happiness
over the shipment. He
said that Ras Al-Zur
integrated complex
to produce DAP (di-
ammonium phosphate)
is reputed for its
excellent manufacturing
operations.
Fahd Al-Sheaibi,
EVP, Fertilizers,
noted the strong
partnership between
SABIC and Ma’aden,
where the latter
provides technology
and expertise in the
phosphate industry
and SABIC provides
the technology and Company is a joint ABOVE Staff from SABIC,
Ma’aden and Saudi Ports
marketing expertise venture between Authority at the function
in the field of Saudi Arabian Mining
nitrogen fertilizers. Company (Ma’aden
Ma’aden Phosphate 70%) and SABIC (30%).

Canadian delegation visits SABIC Jubail

A Canadian business
delegation comprising
senior executives from
oil and gas companies,
and accompanied
by Canadian Deputy
Ambassador Richard SABIC Eastern Province; Tarek Al-Otaibi, Manager,
Dobok, visited SABIC’s Abdullah Al-Osaimi, Middle East Purchase
office in Jubail on March Manager, Planning and Department.
19. They were received Purchase Control; Adnan The discussions
by Nayaf Al-Mendaha, Al-Melhem, Manager, focused on
General Manager, Mega Projects; and strengthening
commercial and
industrial relations, and
new developments
in the petrochemical
industry. They
reviewed investment
opportunities available
for Canadian businesses
in various fields
including engineering,
construction,
technology, exports and
left The Canadian delegation
with SABIC officials in front of
the SABIC office in Jubail
consultancy.
During talks, Dobok
said that Canadian
companies were keen
on investing in SABIC
projects. He noted the
company’s strong global
standing in the chemical
and petrochemical field.
The delegation members
spoke about their
companies’ investments
in infrastructure
projects related to
petrochemicals, oil
and gas, engineering
installations,
innovative solutions,
heavy industries and
specialized training and
qualification programs.

May/June 2011 SABIC 13

cover story

14 SABIC May/June 2011

 Cover story

Chinaplas
2011

SABIC makes the best of the largest

plastics and rubber trade fair in Asia,
projecting its innovation and sustainability
edge through the new Range Rover
Evoque and leveraging the event to reach
out to internal and external stakeholders

‘Evoqueing’
the unique SABIC
experience May/June 2011 SABIC 15
cover story
“Our strong SABIC was the largest exhibitor at Chinaplas 2011
presence in Asia held in Guangzhou, China, drawing thousands of
visitors from all over the region to its two-storey
reflects our ‘open concept’ exhibition booth. The booth
ambition to be showcased SABIC’s strength in innovation and
the preferred technology and its wide range of material solutions
designed for household and industry applications,
petrochemical with the all-new Range Rover Evoque proving to be a
supplier in major attraction.
this important The 25th edition of Chinaplas, the largest plastics
and rubber trade fair in Asia, was held from May
region” 17-20. According to Chinaplas organizers, the
Mohamed Al-Mady, Vice
event set a record this year with 2,441 exhibitors
Chairman and CEO, SABIC
from 34 countries and regions participating, and
attracting over 94,000 visitors – representing a 15.5
percent growth over last year’s figure. SABIC has
been a regular participant at Chinaplas since 1997,
becoming the show’s largest exhibitor this year with
booth space of 496 square meters.
SABIC sees Asia as a major engine of global
16 SABIC May/June 2011
growth for the company. SABIC’s top leaders
demonstrated their commitment to China and Asia
during the week of Chinaplas, visiting Guangzhou
and Bejing over seven days. Prince Saud bin
Abdullah bin Thenayan bin Al-Saud, Chairman, and
Mohamed Al-Mady, Vice Chairman and CEO, were
accompanied by SABIC’s Executive Vice Presidents
during the week, highlighting the status of Greater
China and Asia Pacific regions in the company’s
growth strategy.
Inspired by the theme ‘A Culture of Innovation’,
SABIC’s exhibition space at Chinaplas was uniquely
designed to showcase the latest and greatest of
SABIC’s technology, innovation and sustainable
solutions. As the SABIC story became an integrated,
interactive showcase, visitors and customers
acknowledged and praised the ‘SABIC experience
at Chinaplas’. The SABIC stand featured about 55
applications across diverse industries, including
Range Rover Evoque and HDPE pipes. Visitors were

keen to find out more about SABIC’s contributions to
Evoque; many were fascinated by the eye-catching
touchscreen i-stands.
The presence of the top leadership in China for
a whole week and the fact that the key plastics
and petrochemical customers from around the
world were in the country for the leading global
industry show threw up a number of opportunities
for SABIC to drive significant external and internal
messages to its stakeholders. These included the
special seminars within the Chinaplas event as well
as several corporate-wide and cross-region meetings
involving Prince Saud, Al-Mady and the senior
management team.
Prince Saud and Al-Mady met with National
Development and Reform Committee (NDRC) Vice
Chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang. They also met with
Sinopec Chairman Fu Chengyu, and Vice Chairman
and CEO Wang Tian Fu, and the management
team. The teams discussed ways of strengthening
Cover story
cooperation and tie-ups, with both SABIC and clockwise Prince Saud, Al-
Mady, senior SABIC executives
Sinopec welcoming new ideas on cooperation and and others at the SABIC booth
new growth opportunities in Saudi Arabia. soon after the inauguration
of the booth; Al-Mady
The series of technical seminars conducted addressing the SABIC Customer
in Chinese to present and explain the SABIC’s Dinner; guests at the Customer
Dinner.
innovative products, and live machine
demonstrations by downstream processors to
give industrial visitors a firsthand feel of product
processing were much appreciated. Other
highlights of SABIC activities associated with
the exhibition included a press conference
and Customer Dinner attended by about 400
businessmen. Al-Mady led the SABIC team at both.
He thanked the customers for their support and
reiterated SABIC’s commitment to the region.
The press conference was also attended by Khaled
Al-Mana, EVP Polymers, and Charlie Crew, EVP SABIC
Innovative Plastics. They also attended a series of one-
to-one media interviews resulting in excellent coverage
for SABIC in the global business and trade media.
May/June 2011 SABIC 17
cover story
ABOVE The SABIC-Sinopec
meeting was led by Prince
Saud, Fu Chengyu (Sinopec
Chairman) and Al-Mady, and
attended by Abdullah Saeed
Bazid, EVP Corporate Strategy
& Planning; Al-Mana; and Li Lei,
Vice President & Regional Head
Greater China
18 SABIC May/June 2011
The Chinaplas week saw a series of internal SABIC
events, such as the Executive Committee meeting,
Staff Townhall meeting and a Change Management
kick-off event attended by 25 Asia leaders. As
the eventful week ended, Al-Mady praised the
Asia Pacific team for working with team spirit,
engagement and dedication which had resulted in
all-round achievements. “On behalf of the Chairman
and the Executive team, thank you once again and
keep up the good work,” he said.
COMMITMENT
SABIC made two key announcements that
underlined its commitment to Asia. One focused on
the investment that the company is making in two
Technology & Innovation Centers in China and India,
and the other was about a new project to produce
polycarbonate (PC) in China. “Our strong presence
in Asia reflects our ambition to be the preferred
petrochemical supplier in this important region,” Al-
Mady said at the press conference.
A key milestone of these new investments is the
signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
with Sinopec to collaborate on polycarbonate
production with an annual capacity of 260 kilo
metric tons in China. The new PC production plant
will be located in Tianjin-based SSTPC (SINOPEC
SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Company) and is
expected to be operational by 2015.
The project will deepen the relationship that
SABIC already has with its Chinese partner, which
materialized in 2008 when the two companies
partnering in a US$2.7 billion joint venture to create
SSTPC. Operational since 2010, SSTPC now produces
key petrochemical products to customers across
diverse industries in China.
The T&I center in Shanghai, China will house the
new Greater China Regional Headquarters (RHQ)
occupying 60,000 sqm. It will oversee regional
operations, sales and marketing, and spearhead
research and development of new and innovative
petrochemical products for Asia. The T&I center in
Bangalore spanning 187,000 sqm focuses on diverse
areas of research. Both centers are expected to be
operational in 2013.
“SABIC has embarked on a series of infrastructure
expansions since 2008. These include
manufacturing, and technology and innovation
operations in China, Japan, Korea, India and ASEAN.
We have also invested in local partnerships,
particularly in China, with SSTPC,” Al-Mady said
THE EVOQUE
The Range Rover Evoque, the centerpiece of
SABIC’s Chinaplas stand, underscored the benefits
of lightweight and environmentally responsible
materials from SABIC Innovative Plastics. The
luxurious new cross-coupe, with its compact
footprint and advanced technologies, is described
by Land Rover as a “step change in delivering
reduced CO2 emissions.”
Use of Innovative Plastics’ materials, combined

Sustainability solutions
for a global market
Advanced material solutions that address top sustainability challenges and trends across the world
are needed to develop a vehicle such as the Evoque, which will be sold in more than 160 markets
globally. The following are major application areas using Innovative Plastics’ advanced materials:
Front fenders: Plastic Omnium
chose lightweight Noryl GTX* resin
for the front fenders, reducing
weight by 2.9kg versus metal for
better fuel economy and, in turn,
cutting carbon dioxide emissions
by an estimated 30kg over the
vehicle’s life. Noryl GTX resin
delivers high impact resistance and
high temperature resistance up
to 200C. The resin also optimizes
design freedom, reduces costs and
improves quality. Parts molded
from Noryl GTX resin can be online
painted along with the metal
Body-In-White (BIW), avoiding the
need for secondary operations and
ensuring a perfect color match. This
conductive resin does not require a
primer step prior to painting.
Fuel filler door: ITW (Illinois Tool
Works) chose Noryl GTX resin for
the fuel filler door. As with the
fenders, the part can be painted
online along with the rest of the
BIW. This streamlined approach
avoids quality issues and improves
aesthetics.
Pedestrian energy absorber:
Magna International selected
Xenoy iQ* resin for this critical
component. This environmentally
progressive material contains a
significant percentage of upcycled
post-consumer waste such as
polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
water bottles, helping to divert
them from landfills. Xenoy iQ resin
reduces weight to help improve fuel
economy and cut emissions, while
also providing efficient energy-
absorption countermeasures to
meet pedestrian protection and
low-speed vehicle damageability
requirements.
Instrument panel and inner
door modules: STAMAX LGFPP*
enabled International Automotive
Components’ designers to create
strong, lightweight parts offering
higher stiffness and lower density
than alternate materials. STAMAX
LGFPP is used in the instrument
panels and in the inner door
modules. In addition to weight-
out benefits, these materials
demonstrate excellent mold
Cover story
flow, which means less material
is needed to deliver equivalent
stiffness and strength.
Mirror system with molded-in
color: Samvardhana Motherson
Reflectec chose Geloy* resin for this
application because it provides high
flexural modulus and low vibration
for image stability, good wear
characteristics, high heat resistance
and impact strength. Geloy resins
are highly weatherable, offering
exceptional durability in some of
the harsh outdoor environments
that the Evoque is made for.
Molded-in black color provides a
dramatic design statement without
the need for secondary painting.
Rear spoiler: This part improves
aerodynamic performance
and lends style to the Evoque’s
silhouette. Magna International
chose lightweight Xenoy resin and
Valox* resin for this application
because of the materials’ great
impact resistance and outstanding
aesthetic characteristics.
May/June 2011 SABIC 19
cover story
above VISITORS TO THE with efficient design and attention to detail,
EXHIBITION
contributed to a 35 percent overall weight reduction
FACING PAGE Al-Mana (left), in the Evoque compared to Land Rover’s 2010 Range
Al-Mady and Crew at the SABIC
Chinaplas Media Conference;
Rover Sport model. Innovative Plastics’ work with
The touchscreens at the SABIC Land Rover and its tier suppliers demonstrates the
stand were major attractions
for business visitors
benefits of using lightweight, high-performance
thermoplastic materials to meet global regulatory
requirements and consumer expectations for
reduced environmental impact.
“We are delighted to showcase the new Range
Rover Evoque cross-coupe with our advanced
lightweight materials at Chinaplas,” said V.
“Our team Umamaheswaran (UV), Director of Automotive
at Innovative Products and Marketing, Innovative Plastics. “The
Evoque is a world-class vehicle with a unique blend
Plastics is of style, performance and sustainability. Our team
proud to have at Innovative Plastics is proud to have played a part
played a part in in providing Land Rover and its tier suppliers with
lightweight and environmentally progressive plastic
providing Land solutions that have helped to set new standards for
Rover with fuel economy and CO2 emissions in the premium
lightweight and compact SUV segment.”
According to Land Rover’s estimates, the Range
environmentally Rover Evoque is capable of an exceptional sub-130g/
progressive km carbon dioxide emissions level. The automaker
plastic applied a range of advanced lightweight materials
to make the Evoque the lightest Range Rover ever
solutions” at just under 1,600kg. Land Rover used several
V. Umamaheswaran,
Director of Automotive resins from SABIC Innovative Plastics for various
Products and Marketing, applications to support improved fuel consumption
Innovative Plastics, SABIC and lower emissions, such as Noryl GTX* resin for
20 SABIC May/June 2011
the front fenders, Xenoy iQ* resin for the pedestrian
energy absorber and STAMAX® long glass fiber
polypropylene (LGFPP) for the instrument panel and
inner door modules.
Land Rover’s cooperation with Innovative
Plastics goes back to the design of the acclaimed
LRX model, the concept vehicle upon which the
Range Rover Evoque is based. Consistent with the
LRX vehicle, Innovative Plastics gave Land Rover a
wide selection of high-quality, innovative material
options to choose from to help the automaker
meet its goal of delivering one of the most efficient
and environmentally responsible vehicles in its
class, while also bringing the levels of luxury and
performance customers expect from a new Range
Rover.
PC RESIN
On the first day of Chinaplas, the Innovative
Plastics SBU announced the addition of SABIC®
PC resin to its already expansive polycarbonate
(PC) offering, reaffirming the company’s
polycarbonate industry leadership. The new
transparent PC resin is targeted for high-volume
extrusion, custom compounding, general purpose
and optical-quality applications. The material is
manufactured at SABIC’s SAUDI KAYAN PC facility in
Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia and will be used
to supply the fast growing Asia market, as well as
the Middle East and Europe. This new product will
enable Innovative Plastics to provide customers
 Cover story

May/June 2011 SABIC 21

cover story
BELOW AND FACING PAGE
SABIC products ON DISPLAY
ranged from pipes, water
tanks, food packaging, bottle
caps, household appliances
and more
22 SABIC May/June 2011
with the broader range of PC resins they require for
steady business growth and expansion.
Since being one of the first inventors of PC nearly
60 years ago, Innovative Plastics’ PC portfolio
has evolved into the industry’s most expansive,
including Lexan* PC sheet and film, PC blends that
offer additional performance properties and design
freedom, PC compounds for specialty performance,
and Lexan PC copolymers which add new and
unique dimensions to the material’s already superior
properties. The long heritage of innovation and
consistent product quality has made Lexan resin one
of the world’s most trusted and preferred PC brands.
“Building on our global polycarbonate success,
the addition of SABIC PC reaffirms our continuing
commitment to the polycarbonate industry as we
keep pace with the growing markets and
our customers’ expanding needs,” said William
Russell, Polycarbonate Business Leader, Innovative
Plastics. “We are proud of our position as a world-
leading producer of polycarbonate, reflecting
our 80 years as an innovator in the engineering
thermoplastics industry.”
“As the world’s largest optical disc manufacturers,
we are pleased to be working with a trusted
and reliable supplier such as Innovative Plastics
who continues to innovate and broaden their
polycarbonate product portfolio,” said Bob Wong,
Chairman, CMC Magnetics Corporation. “The
introduction of a new optical quality grade of
SABIC PC resin will help us more readily serve our
customers’ needs in the growing Asian region.”
SABIC PC resin is an amorphous thermoplastic
material that offers water clear transparency and
excellent mechanical, optical, electrical and thermal
performance. Specific attributes include high impact
strength and heat resistance, dimensional stability
at elevated temperatures, ultraviolet resistance and
excellent processability. The SABIC PC resin offering
has the potential for use in high-volume production
processes such as compact disc manufacturing and
sheet extrusion.

outstanding job
As the curtains drew on Chinaplas 2011, SABIC
leaders were very pleased with what was achieved
at the event. Khaled Al-Mana, EVP, Polymers and
Charlie Crew, EVP Innovative Plastics, echoed Al-
Mady’s words when they congratulated the SABIC
Chinaplas team on an outstanding job.
Cover story
“We know how much time and planning went
into the show and our team’s hard work really paid
off. Our booth was the best at the show and clearly
demonstrated SABIC’s leadership. Our commitment
to Technology, Growth, Customer Focus and
Sustainability was very professionally presented. Our
customers were impressed with our capabilities and
expertise and our employees are proud to be part of
such a great company,” they said.
Overseas visitors to the SABIC stand, including
staff and industry representatives, were pleased
too. Cheng, a SABIC visitor from Malaysia,
said: “The Range Rover display showcased the
effective application of a successful technology.
I am impressed at the cost effectiveness and
environmentally friendly features of the material.”
Li, from China, expressed deep interest in the
film packing solutions offered by SABIC. “As I am in
the food and beverage industry, I find the material
solutions in film packaging interesting and relevant
to my business,” he said.
Lu, an IT industry specialist who visited the SABIC
booth, found the consumer electronics solutions
offerings highly applicable to his field and was highly
appreciative of the innovative solutions on display.
® SABIC is a registered trademark of SABIC.
* Trademark of SABIC Innovative Plastics I.P. B.V.
May/June 2011 SABIC 23
exhibitions & conferences

GPCA honors region’s

plastics innovators
The Second GPCA Plastics Summit highlights the benefits of
plastics, the region’s growth potential and the need for wider
cooperation on recycling and waste management initiatives

24 SABIC May/June 2011


The winners of the first
GPCA Plastics Innovation
Awards pose for a souvenir
photograph with the
Association leaders. From
right: Moayyed I. Al-Qurtas,
GPCA Board Member and
Chairman of GPCA Plastics
Committee; Rashed Saif Al-
Ghurair, Chairman, Taghleef
Industries; Mohamed Al-Mady,
Chairman, GPCA; Hamad Al
Terkait, Vice Chairman, GPCA;
Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun,
Secretary General, GPCA,
Mohammed Naser S. Alghamdi,
Yanbu Industrial College; Adel
Al-Ghassab, CEO, Zamil Plastics;
Walid Al-Hamad, General
Manager, Tasnee Marketing (A
delegate), and Robert Rossing,
Research and Development
Director, Green Vision
exhibitions & conferences
As the Second GPCA Plastics Summit drew to a
successful conclusion on April 6 in Dubai, it was
clear that the Gulf Petrochemical and Chemicals
Association has become a rallying platform for
the region’s upstream polymer producers and
downstream converters to tackle the challenges
facing the industry and highlight the value of plastics
in modern living. ‘Growth Through Technology and
Innovation’ was the theme of this year’s event.
Nearly 400 key decision makers and thought
leaders from the regional and international
petrochemicals and plastic converting industry
attended the summit, which recorded a 30
percent increase in attendance this year. Industry
leaders attributed the success of the annual event
to the region’s potential for further growth in
petrochemical sector production.
Twenty-four industry executives and experts
from around the world addressed the gathering,
discussing a wide range of topics including the
potential for growth of plastic products in
the Gulf, emerging trends and new opportunities
in the region, plastic waste management,
and technological advancements in extrusion,
blow molding and injection molding as well
as the production of masterbatches, compounds
and additives.
A highlight of the summit was the debut of the
GPCA Plastics Innovation Awards. Three regional
downstream plastic converters and two individuals
– who had demonstrated a passion and strength
in innovating with plastics – walked away with the
inaugural awards on the evening of April 5.
Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC’s Vice Chairman and
CEO and GPCA’s Chairman, flew in from Riyadh
to honor the award winners. The GPCA instituted
the award in 2010 to encourage innovation in
the plastics industry and honor companies and
individuals who have achieved excellence in the field.
AWARD WINNERS
Al-Mady expressed his happiness over the success of
the new award, especially the quality of the entries.
He noted that GPCA started receiving nominations
almost immediately after the competition was
announced. He pointed out that the works
submitted by the companies and individuals had
confirmed the ability of the Gulf region to innovate.
Al-Mady expected a marked increase in the number
of entries in the coming years.
The winners were selected from over 25
nominations from the region. Green Vision KSA won
the award in the Plastic Products category for its
innovative and eco-friendly turf system that was
developed locally to replace grass turfs in regions
affected by droughts. The new product offers an
authentic grass look and is developed using less
energy and less raw material than comparative
products. The jury highlighted the unique relevance
of the product in the region and its global appeal.
May/June 2011 SABIC 25
exhibitions & conferences
Zamil Plastics, also from Saudi Arabia, won the
award in the Processing and Conversion category, for
converting metal parts to plastic parts. Zamil Plastics
developed a holistic system to achieve metals-to-
plastics conversion of parts by applying a range of
injection molding possibilities. The jury emphasized
that the innovation will present new opportunities
for businesses to reduce cost by shifting from metals
to plastics.
Taghleef Industries from Dubai won the award
in the Plastics and Environment category, for
its BOPLA sustainable packaging film. The new
packaging film solution for the flower industry
is made of polylactic acid (PLA) resin, which is a
bio-plastic obtained from the fermentation of
sugars contained in plants. Besides using 100
percent renewable raw materials, PLA is also fully
biodegradable. BOPLA film performs as efficiently
as the conventional film in terms of presentation
and protection of flowers, while contributing to the
reduction of CO emissions. In addition, Taghleef’s
BOPLA biodegradable film is engineered to become
compost, along with the flowers they are packaged
in. The jury was impressed about the development
and commercialization of the product.
Dr. Mohammed Naser S. Alghamdi and Krishna
Prasad Rajan, both from Yanbu Industrial College,
KSA, won the award and US$ 5,000 cash prize
in the Talents in Plastics category for developing
environment-friendly, completely bio-degradable
bio composites materials based on date palm fiber.
Their research on understanding the rheology
of biodegradable fibers in both type of matrices,
thermoplastic resin as well as biodegradable
plastic, helped to design biocomposites. Their
achievement will help faster commercialization of
new biocomposites, and the jury was impressed with
the results of the scientists’ research work on date
palm fiber reinforced plastics.
GULF POTENTIAL
The first day’s key speakers at the summit included
Moayyed I. Al Qurtas, Vice Chairman and CEO,
TASNEE and Chairman of the GPCA Plastics
Committee. “It is critical for the industry to focus
on the environment and look for ways to improve
the standard of living for humanity. Plastics have the
advantage of recyclability at a relatively low-cost and
can combat shortages of food and drinking water.
Remarkable advances in plastic innovation can lead
to a sustainable, environmentally sound and socially
responsible industry,” he said.
Ziad Al-Labban, President and CEO, Petro Rabigh,
noted that the region sits on 50 percent of global
oil reserves and 40 percent of the world’s gas
reserves, but it produces only 15 percent of the
global petrochemical output. Considering the global
petrochemical production to hydrocarbon resources
ratio, the region offers tremendous potential for the
plastics industry.
26 SABIC May/June 2011
ABOVE Al-Mady addressing the
awards ceremony, which was
followed by a SABIC-hosted
dinner at the summit venue
OPPOSITE Richard Crosby,
General Manager-MEA, SABIC
Innovative Plastics, addresses
the summit
“Furthermore, the region is located between
current and future large plastics demand centers
of the world. Having the hydrocarbon resource
base and proximity to markets provides the right
ingredients to make this region the hub for plastics
development. To reap the benefits from its natural
resource base, the region must optimize the use of
technology, enhance R&D initiatives and programs,
create business opportunities and develop human
resources,” he said.
SABIC IP & MENA
Richard Crosby, General Manager-MEA, SABIC
Innovative Plastics, was a key speaker at the
morning session of the summit, which focused on
the growth and sustainable development of the
petrochemicals and plastic converting industry in
the Gulf region through technology and innovation.
In a presentation titled “Accelerating Engineering
Thermoplastic Growth in the Middle East”, he spoke
about SABIC IP’s innovation heritage and noted
the company’s effective role in transforming the
thermoplastics industry and the world.
Crosby said SABIC IP has accumulated over 5,000
patents since 1950, playing a leading role in the
development of industries as diverse as electronics,
automobiles and aerospace. Noting the Middle
East’s growing appetite for thermoplastics, driven
by fundamentals such as population growth and
demand, he presented SABIC’s strengths as a major
polymer producer and supplier as well as a key
thermoplastics innovator.
He said SABIC’s SAUDI KAYAN affiliate has already
begun production of polycarbonate resins in
Saudi Arabia, providing multiple grades for diverse
applications. Other projects underway in Saudi Arabia
will introduce new products, further enhancing the
potential for downstream growth in the region.
In MENA, the time is right for growth as the region
has the three vital pillars of demand creation: the

right environment provided by governments to
attract OEMs, provide incentives and local investors;
the right customers who provide local assets,
have a desire to grow and are willing to be change
agents; and the right partners to provide application
development, technology, market know-how and
global reach.
Providing examples, Crosby said that SABIC IP
is already contributing to the development of a
local thermoplastic industry, finding molders ready
to drive change, co-investing with engineering,
technology and innovation, and helping downstream
customers to win. He said SABIC’s global application
centers will work closely with the new center being
developed in Riyadh as part of the Riyadh Techno
Valley to promote local growth.
PLASTIC WASTE
The summit had an entire afternoon session
dedicated to “Plastic Waste Management:
Spearheading Effective Decisions”. Emphasizing
the need for industry cooperation as a sustainable
solution to plastics recycling, Laurence Jones, Vice
President Corporate Support, Borouge, said that it is
important to improve the public image of plastics in
order to attract the best engineers to come into the
industry. “Strong recycling and anti-littering culture
as well as collaboration with environmental groups
and governments to proactively manage the end-of-
life issues with plastics will go a long way,” said Jones.
Earlier in the session, in a paper titled “Plastic
Waste Management in the GCC”, Sasidhar
Chidanamarri of Frost and Sullivan noted that
the key drivers for the growth of plastics industry
were population growth, changing lifestyles with
increasing purchase power, promotion of tourism
and accent on urban infrastructure improvements,
clamor for sustainable economic growth, acceptance
of food-grade recycled PET and food and beverage
businesses embracing recycled products.
“However, the drawbacks that need to be tackled
“SABIC’s global
application
centers will
work closely
with the new
center being
developed in
Riyadh as part
of the Riyadh
Techno Valley
to promote
local growth”
Richard Crosby, General
Manager-MEA, SABIC
Innovative Plastics
exhibitions & conferences
are lack of sorting and segregation facilities, low
public awareness, absence of robust regulations and
poor implementation, limited domestic demand
for recycled plastic, ample fossil fuels, cheap landfill
rates and institutional capacity constraints,” he said.
Looking at the positive steps taken across the
GCC, Chindanamarri noted that in Oman, Oman
Environmental Services Holding Company SAOC
(OESHCO) is embarking on a strategic roadmap to
establish 16 engineered landfills, 65 waste transfer
stations and 4 waste treatment plants between 2011
and 2015.
Other speakers on the first day of the summit
included Khaled Al-Ghefaili, Executive Director,
Higher Institute of Plastics Fabrication; Rashed Al
Shamsi, Vice President - Polymers Conversion, Abu
Dhabi Basic Industries; El-Awady Ossama, Senior
Procurement Manager/Middle East and Africa,
Unilever; Steven English, Global Business Leader/
Polyurethanes, Dow Chemical; Michael Traexler,
Senior Vice President & General Manager, Acrylic
Polymers, Evonik Röhm GmbH; and Michael Heyde,
CEO, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kreislaufwirtschaft
und Rohstoffe (DKR).
On the second day of the event, the emphasis was
on success stories from plastic converters, who have
worked hard at ensuring innovation as a priority.
Dr. Hanna A. Saad, Executive Vice President, NAPCO
Flexible Packaging Division, KSA, said: “Environmental
sustainability has been a key driver at all times. We
believe in flexible packaging as it uses less material
and energy than most other packaging modes,
and locally produced LLDPE generates the least
carbon footprint. We have down-gauged by 30-40
percent most of the packages that we supply to our
customers and recycle all our waste and collect film
waste from our major customers for recycling. We
recycle in the range of 1,500 tons-per-month.”
Other speakers on the second day included
Muayad Al-Faresi, Vice Chairman, GPCA Plastics
Committee; Abdullah Ali Al-Sanea, CEO, San Consult;
Mostafa Mehrabani, Vice President, Obeikan
Plastic Division, Obeikan Investment Group; Ulrich
Droegsler, Director Sales and Marketing/Industrial
Packaging, Bishof + Klein GmbH; Paulo Gomes,
Business Manager, Packaging (EMEA), Husky Injection
Molding Systems; Tony Daponte, R&D Director, A.
Schulman; Laid Demdoum, Technical Manager,
Tasnee; Mohamed Sidqi, Middle East Sales Manager,
ADEKA PALMAROLE SAS France; Tim Hauck, Senior
Manager, Plastics Additives, EMEA, Milliken Chemical.
Dr. Sadoun thanked the industry leaders for
their continued support to the Plastics Summit,
especially the innovation awards. “It is heartening
to see continued industry support to an initiative
that drives technology, innovation and thought
leadership. The industry must take a proactive
approach to ensure sustainable development in a
society that relies heavily on plastics in all walks of
life,” he said.
May/June 2011 SABIC 27
 SABIC made a major impact at the 2011 conference of the VDI Society for
Plastic Technologies by announcing a new collaboration for the Electric Vehicle
(EV) sector, as well as announcing new product developments. Plastics in
Automotive Engineering was the theme of this year’s VDI Conference,
held in Mannheim, Germany on April 6 and 7.

Partnership with IAV GmbH to

offer plastic solutions for EVs

28 SABIC May/June 2011


SABIC announced a new collaboration and
launched new materials for the automotive industry
at the 35th International VDI Conference, held
in Mannheim, Germany, on April 6 and 7. The
collaboration with IAV GmbH, a world leader in
advanced vehicle and powertrain systems, will focus
on developing advanced thermoplastic solutions
that can replace metal in electric vehicle (EV) and
hybrid powertrain components. Specifically, IAV
and SABIC are targeting new ways to optimize
vehicle performance and efficiency, including
weight reduction to offset heavy battery packs and
shielding in areas of high voltage.
“Our strategic collaboration with IAV is all about
creating innovative new options for our customers
as they strive to develop and deliver a range of
electric vehicles to consumers, whether it’s hybrids,
plug-in hybrids or pure battery electrics,” said
Gregory A. Adams, Vice President, Automotive,
SABIC Innovative Plastics.
“Bringing together complementary skills and
strengths from different companies is increasingly
the key to delivering the rapid technological
advances that our customers worldwide want
and deserve. We see a winning combination with
IAV’s leading expertise in advanced powertrain
engineering and our selection of tough, high-
performance specialty materials and application
development know-how. We look forward to helping
automakers develop next generation powertrains
and powertrain components as a result of this
collaboration,” he added.
IAV has been developing innovative concepts
and technologies for new-generation vehicles for
27 years. In the area of e-mobility, the company
develops powertrains, control units, on board
systems, high voltage battery systems and other
systems and components for battery and hybrid
electric vehicles.
“We are pleased to be working closely with SABIC
Innovative Plastics on new powertrain components
that will take full
An IAV state-of-the-art advantage of the
powertrain test bench at one
of the company’s development
light weight, shielding
centers performance, corrosion
exhibitions & conferences
and high temperature resistance of thermoplastic “We are
resins and compounds,” said Kurt Blumenröder, pleased to be
President and CEO, IAV GmbH. “SABIC Innovative
Plastics’ extensive experience in metal replacement working closely
and high performance engineering thermoplastics with SABIC
is a great fit with our engineering expertise. We Innovative
anticipate important advancements that can help
the automotive industry make significant progress Plastics on new
in the performance and efficiency of hybrids and powertrain
electric vehicles.” components
WEIGHT REDUCTION CHALLENGE that will take
To sustain the full environmental advantages of full advantage
hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles, of the light
the additional weight of battery packs – up to 300
kg (approx. 661 lbs.) on a mid-sized car – needs weight,
to be offset by weight reduction in other areas. shielding
Thermoplastics including Noryl* polyphenylene oxide performance,
(PPO) and Valox* polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)
resins from SABIC Innovative Plastics can replace corrosion
steel in battery frames and housings. These resins and high
also offer chemical and temperature resistance, temperature
dimensional stability and flame retardance.
The increasing use of lithium ion and lithium resistance of
polymer batteries, which have higher power and thermoplastic
energy density, requires thermal management resins and
solutions for battery packs. These batteries
operate best at room temperature. To control compounds”
Kurt Blumenröder,
temperature, liquid cooling often replaces air cooling
President and CEO, IAV GmbH
for greater efficiency. As a result, these liquids
require chemically resistant, high-performance
engineering thermoplastic materials. Further, if
power is withdrawn from a battery, it will heat
up – thus requiring materials with excellent
temperature resistance. SABIC Innovative Plastics’
Ultem* polyetherimide (PEI) resins deliver high heat
resistance and inherent flame retardance, and Valox
PBT resins provide high heat and chemical resistance.
In hybrid-electric vehicles, the higher the voltage,
the more important electromagnetic interference/
radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI) shielding
becomes to control the potential disturbance
from the different electronic components such
as inverters, electronic control units and battery
management system. LNP* Faradex* compounds
from SABIC Innovative Plastics provide exceptional
EMI/RFI shielding properties without the heavy
weight of metal layers or metallization.
Compared to internal combustion engines that
supply heat to the vehicle’s interior, alternative
energy vehicles rely on battery power for heating
and air conditioning, making insulation more vital
to avoid a heavy drain on the battery. Lexan*
polycarbonate glazing solutions offer five times the
insulative performance of glass, and specialized
infrared (IR) absorbing grades of Lexan resin can
further optimize air conditioning by reducing the
amount of heat load transferred to a vehicle’s
interior in hot climates or sunny weather.
May/June 2011 SABIC 29
exhibitions & conferences

Two new specialty

materials to create and
maintain interiors

30 SABIC May/June 2011

 exhibitions & conferences

“Our new on display at the booth at the event, showcasing

Cycolac and the company’s focus on driving next-generation
breakthroughs to help global automotive customers
Geloy resins enhance vehicle performance and consumer appeal.
help our “Consumers may choose a vehicle for its exterior
customers design but it’s the interior that they live with – and
in – every day,” said V. Umamaheswaran, Director
provide of Automotive Products and Marketing, SABIC
consumers with Innovative Plastics. “Our new Cycolac and Geloy
a wide choice resins help our customers provide consumers
with a wide choice of superior aesthetics while
of superior addressing the issues of interior wear and tear.
aesthetics while These materials can make a huge difference against
addressing competing products in terms of sustaining customer
satisfaction long after that new car excitement has
the issues of worn off.”
interior wear
and tear” CYCOLAC ELEGANCE
The new Cycolac DL100LG compound is intended
V. Umamaheswaran, to be the ideal material for automotive OEMs
Director of Automotive and tiers that are looking for a low-gloss material
Products and Marketing, offering the cost-out and environmental benefits
SABIC Innovative Plastics of a no-paint approach. This product delivers the
desired aesthetics and perceived higher quality
of a low-gloss appearance across a wide range of
grains and colors, including custom colors, and can
be combined with various tool surface treatments.
The product also reduces manufacturing costs and
the environmental impact of volatile emissions by
eliminating the painting process.
Cycolac DL100LG compound combines high-
quality appearance with excellent material
properties including dimensional stability and heat
and impact resistance. Potential applications include
trim components, door entry steps and consoles.
SABIC Innovative Plastics is also exhibiting a steering
column cover molded from this new Cycolac
compound at its booth.

ANTI-STATIC, ANTI-DUST GELOY

At the VDI Conference in Germany, SABIC launched
two new specialty materials that make creating
and maintaining high-quality, attractive automotive
interiors much easier. The first new product
is a Cycolac* acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene/
polycarbonate (ABS/PC) resin for elegant, low-gloss
parts that eliminates the costs, wear problems and
environmental downsides of secondary painting.
The second innovation is a Geloy* polycarbonate/
acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (PC/ASA) resin that
provides permanent anti-static performance for a
fresh, clean appearance of interior parts.
The new Cycolac and Geloy resin materials –
along with other high-tech thermoplastic resins
and glazing in SABIC Innovative Plastics’ robust and
growing portfolio of automotive materials – were
Above left Low-gloss
Cycolac* compound imparts
elegance and anti-static
Geloy* Compound Fights Dust,
helping create and maintain
high-quality, attractive
automotive interiors
Providing permanent anti-static properties, Geloy
HRA170D compound is designed to help automotive
interiors keep that factory-fresh appearance over
years of use. Compared to conventional materials
that tend to attract dust, this new Geloy compound
repels dust. Instead of using a slipping agent, the
SABIC Innovative Plastics product uses an additive
to ensure anti-dust performance with a surface
resistivity of 1012 Ohm.
Since color pigment loading can have a big
influence on anti-static properties, SABIC Innovative
Plastics offers Geloy HRA170D compound in a wide
range of colors. This spares molders from having
to add colorants and helps to achieve the best
possible anti-static performance. Target applications
include trims, interior mirror housings and overhead
consoles. The new Geloy HRA170D compound is
based on Geloy HRA170 compound, which has
been used successfully for automotive interior trim
components for several years with leading OEMs.

May/June 2011 SABIC 31

exhibitions & conferences

Research
highlights new
benefits of
Lexan* PC
Advanced computer analyses of the thermal
insulation benefits of Lexan* polycarbonate (PC)
automotive glazing have quantified the material’s
potential to reduce the load on heating, ventilation
and air conditioning (HVAC) systems based on the
significantly lower thermal conductivity of
PC compared with glass. Announcing the new
findings at the VDI Conference, SABIC noted that
Lexan PC automotive glazing has already established
itself as a weight reducing technology that can
result in lower fuel consumption and lower carbon
dioxide emissions.
The new findings underscore the value of using
Lexan PC glazing to help drive improved efficiency
for conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles. The
findings come from the research and development
team of Exatec*, LLC, SABIC Innovative Plastics’
“With this new dedicated automotive glazing subsidiary.
research, we “With this new research, we have given the
have given industry a whole new way to think about the value
of Lexan polycarbonate glazing, beyond the well-
the industry known benefits of weight reduction and styling
a whole new freedom,” said Dominic McMahon, General Manager
way to think of Automotive Product Marketing at SABIC Innovative
Plastics and CEO of Exatec. “The significance of our
about the findings is that automotive OEMs can get even more
value of Lexan out of our portfolio of Lexan polycarbonate glazing both hot and cold climates, considering stationary
polycarbonate solutions – benefits like extended range for electric and moving vehicles.
vehicles and greater efficiency in air conditioning The results showed that the lower inherent thermal
glazing, beyond and heating systems. These findings also represent conductivity of PC glazing relative to tempered glass
the well- a natural complement to the solar energy absorbing can reduce steady-state total heat transfer between
known benefits capability of our infrared absorbing Lexan resins, the inside and outside of the vehicle. This effect is
which can be used to further reduce the heat load expected to reduce emissions for conventional and
of weight on a vehicle’s interior.” hybrid power vehicles, and extend battery range for
reduction hybrid and electric power vehicles.
and styling LOWER HVAC LOAD, EMISSIONS “This is a breakthrough in how to think about
The insulating properties of Lexan PC resin can polycarbonate glazing,” said Stephen Shuler,
freedom” reduce the demands on both heating and air Exatec’s Chief Technology Officer. “Replacing glass
Dominic McMahon, conditioning systems. SABIC Innovative Plastics’ with highly insulating Lexan polycarbonate glazing
General Manager of Exatec team used computational fluid dynamics can help reduce demands on air conditioning and
Automotive Product
Marketing at SABIC
(CFD) simulations of two car configurations, one with heating systems in hot and cold climates – and
Innovative Plastics a PC backlite and rooflite, and the other with a glass during both day and night driving. Our computer
and CEO of Exatec backlite and rooflite. Simulations were performed for simulations show, for example, that these reduced

32 SABIC May/June 2011

 exhibitions & conferences

ABOVE The GAC A-HEV concept

car features door and fender
inserts, a panoramic roof
that flows seamlessly into
the windscreen, and a two-
part tailgate window – all
designed using SABIC’S Lexan PC
glazing with Exatec coating
technology. These components
are integrated with printing,
defrost, and hidden antenna
technologies.

demands can cut emissions by as much as three

grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, and
extend electric vehicle battery range by two to
three percent. This is in addition to the already
recognized efficiencies provided by lighter weight
polycarbonate glazing.”
Research and development by SABIC Innovative
Plastics has resulted in a new family of Lexan
polycarbonate resin products with infrared (IR)
energy absorbing capability. These commercially
available products are formulated to reduce the
amount of solar heat energy entering a vehicle’s
Computational Fluid interior. By absorbing solar energy, these Lexan
Dynamics Modeling,
Simulating HVAC loads
products can further mitigate the load on air
used for glass and Lexan* conditioning systems and help to improve fuel
PC windows
economy and lower emissions.
* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP B.V.

May/June 2011 SABIC 33

exhibitions & conferences
BFA Board Members include
Al–Mady (6th from left); Yasuo
Fukuda, former Prime Minister
of Japan (7th from left); Henry
Paulson, former Treasury
Secretary, USA (5th from
left); Zeng Peiyan, former Vice
Premier of the State Council
of China (5th from right);
Abdullah Badawi, former Prime
Minister of Malaysia (4th from
right)
34 SABIC May/June 2011
A vision for inclusive growth
At the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2011
in Hainan, China, SABIC reiterated its commitment to promoting
inclusive growth
S
ABIC Vice Chairman and CEO Mohamed
Al-Mady led a team of senior executives
to the BFA event from April 14 to 16,
which has become one of the world’s
most influential gatherings of political
and business leaders promoting regional
economic cooperation and strengthening dialogue
and cooperation between Asia and other regions.
During the three-day meeting, more than
2,000 political and business leaders, scholars
and media celebrities discussed a wide range
of topics. Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev, Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff, South African President Jacob
Zuma, Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-
sik, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero and
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mikola Azarov were
key national leaders attending the Forum.
BFA was founded by 28 nations in 2001 as a
non-government and non-profit organization
dedicated to strengthening economic cooperation
in Asia, and providing intellectual support for
the region’s sustainable development. SABIC was
the Platinum Sponsor of the event this year.
The theme for the 10th anniversary event
was “Inclusive Development: Common Agenda
& Challenges.” Al-Mady, supported by Abdullah
Saeed Bazid, Executive Vice President, Corporate
Strategy & Planning, Khaled Al-Mana, Executive
Vice President, Polymers, and Li Lei, Vice President
and Region Head of Greater China, shared insights
and views about inclusive growth with global
business and governmental leaders at the event.
The SABIC leaders used the opportunity to
emphasize that the company wants to be a catalyst
of inclusive growth by harnessing its resources to
create new growth, high quality jobs and products
that would improve the quality of life around the
world. They said that SABIC would play this role
leveraging its diverse roles as a leading global

petrochemical producer, global business vested
in growing local partnerships, a business that
provides world-class cutting-edge products and
services, and a responsible global corporate citizen.
INAUGURAL CALL
In his keynote address at the inaugural session of
the conference, President Hu called for inclusive
development in Asia. Explaining this year’s
theme, he said Asia is at a new starting point
in its development at the dawn of the second
decade of the century, and deepening trends
of multi-polarity and economic globalization
demanded both development and stability.
Paying tribute to the fine traditions of Asian
people such as their quest for self-improvement,
innovative spirit, readiness to learn from
others and solidarity in helping each other in
difficult times, he said the people of the region
have a shared mission to promote common
development and build a harmonious Asia.
China’s Xinhua news agency said Hu suggested
a five-pronged approach to ensure inclusive
development. These included respect for diversity
of civilizations and promotion of good-neighborly
relations; transformation of the development
pattern to ensure all-round development; sharing
of development opportunities and joining of
hands to meet challenges; seeking common
ground while shelving differences and enhancing
common security; and the championing of mutual
exhibitions & conferences
benefit and deepening regional cooperation.
“We need to translate the diversity of our region
into a driving force for more dynamic exchanges and
cooperation, increase mutual understanding and
trust, and take our cooperation to higher levels,” he
said. The Asian countries need to transform their
economic development pattern in keeping with
global trends, restructure their economies, build
capacity for scientific and technological innovation,
and develop the green economy, he added.
“We need to focus on both the speed and
quality of development, and ensure both efficiency
and quality…We need to integrate our effort “We need
to develop the economy with that to improve to integrate
people’s well-being, and achieve coordinated
economic and social development,” he said. our effort to
develop the
SABIC’S ROLE economy with
In an article published in the official publication
of BFA Conference 2011 which was distributed that to improve
to all participants, Al-Mady said, SABIC believes people’s
that it has an important role to play in well-being,
supporting inclusive growth and development
in every locale where it operates. and achieve
“We want to see a rising economic tide that coordinated
lifts all the boats and furthers the opportunities economic
for broad prosperity. We hire talent all over the
world to create a diverse workforce of many and social
cultures and nationalities. We are committed development”
to educating our workforce and encouraging Chinese President Hu
LEFT Abdullah Bazid, EVP
Corporate Strategy &
Planning (second from
left) at Bloomberg TV Media
Roundtable “Drivers of the
Next Wave of Growth”
May/June 2011 SABIC 35
exhibitions & conferences

their business and social progress. We support
institutions of higher learning and provide
scholarships to develop the next generation of
bright young engineers. We fully embrace our
larger social commitments to the environment,
health, safety, security and sustainability.
“Our products play a key role in stimulating
economic growth wherever we go – from efficient
and productive farming to grow more food to
feed the world, to medicines and medical devices
that saves lives, to raw materials that feed our
customers’ plants that create jobs around the
world, and plastics that keep us mobile and
connected in our personal and business lives
wherever we go. At SABIC, we always want to serve
as a catalyst for social and economic growth in
every nation where we do business,” he wrote.
Al-Mady cited reports and viewpoints from
leading international organizations and said that
SABIC is in agreement that the goals of economic
growth and poverty reduction should be linked.
The United Nations Development Program’s
International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth
has defined the mission quite succinctly as the
“equitable sharing of the benefits of growth.” The
UN work starts from a premise that societies based
on equality tend to perform better in development.
Inclusive growth will create a win-win situation for
companies, governments and consumers. He said:
“When a broader part of population is included in
economic opportunities, two important things can
be achieved. Firstly, the marketplace is expanded

RIGHT Welcoming Al–Mady to

the BOAO Forum for Asia

BELOW Al-Mady with former

Malaysian Prime Minister
Abdullah Badawi

Opposite page Al-Mady

reiterated SABIC’s commitment
in contributing to inclusive
growth at his media
interactions and business
meetings at the Forum

36 SABIC May/June 2011


for economic growth. This will result in the creation
of more buyers who further stimulate the economy
and growth, which in turn adds to overall prosperity.
Secondly, economic opportunity is also the
leading factor in securing domestic tranquility.”
As one of the world’s leading petrochemical
providers and a global employer of 33,000
employees, SABIC has an important role to
play in supporting inclusive economic growth
and development. The notion of corporate
responsibility has been part of SABIC’s operations
since its creation by royal decree in September
1976, he said. The article went on to explain how
SABIC’s products – being building blocks in the
economic value chain – have created significant
socio-economic impacts across multiple markets.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Boao conference was preceded by a summit
of the five-country bloc consisting of Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in
the Hainan city of Sanya. The BRICS summit was
chaired by President Hu and attended by Brazilian
exhibitions & conferences
“At SABIC, we
always want
to serve as a
catalyst for
social and
economic
growth in
every nation
where we do
business”
Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC
Vice Chairman and CEO
President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and South African President Jacob Zuma. Al-Mady,
who is a member of the Board of BFA, attended
an exclusive dinner hosted by Hu for BRICS leaders
and the BFA Board.
Participating in a CCTV dialogue program
that featured Henry Paulson, former US Treasury
Secretary and Zhou Wenzhong, Secretary General,
BFA, Al-Mady asserted that sustained economic
growth needs to be founded on free trade.
He gave the example of the close trading ties
between China and Saudi Arabia. He expressed the
notion that China needs to eventually evolve its
economic growth direction from one that is based
on low-cost production to one that focuses on
value-added and innovative products and services.
Bazid represented SABIC in a media round-table
hosted by Bloomberg TV and titled ‘Drivers of the
Next Wave of Growth’.
The SABIC delegation to Boao also met with
Chinese government officials and business
partners.
May/June 2011 SABIC 37
success story

38 SABIC May/June 2011


China’s Leedarson blazes
trail in LED bulbs using LNP*
Konduit* Compound
Leedarson Lighting, a leading end-to-end private
label lighting manufacturer and provider of energy
saving lighting solutions, has selected LNP* Konduit*
thermally conductive compound in a new white
formulation to manufacture heat sinks for two
of its light-emitting diode (LED) retrofit bulbs.
Headquartered in Xiamen, China, Leedarson is
utilizing the new LNP Konduit compound material
as a replacement for aluminum in these heat sinks
to achieve key goals: stylish and heat-stable white
color without the need for secondary painting;
higher productivity through the use of injection
molding; and compliance with industry requirements
for electrical isolation.
By combining superior aesthetics and production
advantages with outstanding heat dissipation
performance, LNP Konduit compound can help drive
adoption of LED lighting and expand its benefits of
energy savings and reduced environmental impact.
“As the first lighting manufacturer to use white
LNP Konduit compound for heat sinks, we are
leading the industry by offering high-efficiency,
stylish LED retrofit products to consumers,” said
Eder Lee, General Manager, Leedarson Lighting.
“We believe improved appearance of LED bulbs will
have a significant effect on market acceptance. As
demand increases, LNP Konduit compound will make
it easy for us to boost production capacity because
injection molding is highly scalable compared to
metalworking. This versatile material also provides
the freedom to design the next generation of heat
sinks for future LED technologies.”
“With life spans of up to 50,000 hours and very
low power consumption, LED lights hold tremendous
potential for energy conservation,” said Peter Chan,
President, Greater China, SABIC Innovative Plastics.
LEFT Leedarson Lighting LED
retrofit bulbs using the new
white LNP* Konduit* Compound
for their heat sinks
success story
“As part of our commitment to sustainability
solutions, SABIC Innovative Plastics offers a portfolio
of specialty materials that can enhance LED design
and manufacturing. In particular, our LNP Konduit
compounds for heat sinks can play a crucial role in
optimizing brightness performance and long useful
life of LEDs. Our pioneering work with Leedarson
Lighting is an important milestone in achieving these
environmental goals.”
Replacing Aluminum
Leedarson created cylindrical heat sinks for its 2
watt (W) clear candle-shaped LED bulb and its 2W
clear, round LED bulb using the new white LNP
Konduit compound. These bulbs are sold in major
home improvement stores and worldwide chain
stores. Leedarson evaluated other conductive
thermoplastics and chose LNP Konduit compound
for its superior conductive performance, non-
halogenated flame retardance, electrical isolation
“As part of our
properties to pass the 6k V breakdown test, and commitment to
stable color performance. sustainability
Compared to aluminum and other metals,
thermally conductive compounds typically have
solutions, SABIC
lower coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) that Innovative
help reduce stresses from differential expansion. Plastics offers
They also weigh significantly less than aluminum.
LNP Konduit compounds offer tremendous
a portfolio
flexibility to designers, who benefit from the of specialty
freedom to create complex shapes and achieve materials that
part integration using injection molding instead of
traditional stamping, casting and secondary finishing
can enhance
required by metals. Thermoplastics open the door LED design and
to innovative configurations that can optimize heat manufacturing”
transfer while providing the cost benefits of high- Eder Lee, General Manager,
volume production. Leedarson Lighting
* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP B.V.
May/June 2011 SABIC 39
corporate social responsibility

Lending a helping hand

to communities in India

40 SABIC May/June 2011

 Corporate social responsibility

The community programs that SABIC staff and

management supported in 2010 included provision
of equipment to ensure uninterrupted power supplies
to a rehabilitation center and co-hosting a sports
event for special needs children
BELOW Ready, Set, Go…starting
one of the tricycle races

The Janata Rehabilitation Training Center is an

educational and vocational training institute for visually
challenged adults. Based in Gurgaon, near New Delhi,
India, the Center’s objective is to help its students to be
self-reliant and successful in what they set out to do.
The Center also provides less privileged people with
free lodging, and relies only on government funds and
door-to-door collections which are insufficient for their
day-to-day activities.
SABIC Innovative Plastics in India has been
supporting the Janata Rehabilitation Training Center
for several years. In recent years, they have assisted
by supporting the renovation work at the Center and
by providing uniforms. In 2010, SABIC IP employees
donated a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) system
to the center. The UPS is a device that consists of
batteries that draw and store power from regular
electricity supplies, and is used widely in India to
light homes at times of power failures.

left Harshpal Jadeja, Human

Resources Manager at SABIC IP
Vadodara plant, presents a
medal to one of
the winners.

May/June 2011 SABIC 41

corporate social responsibility

right Musical performance

at the Janata Rehabilitation
Training Center

“Our staff have The employees did this through voluntary Parliament and Mayor of city, and members of the
shown great donations, with the company matching the SABIC IP leadership team from the Vadodara plant.
contributions dollar-for-dollar. Over US$ 1,700 was SABIC’s Vadodara staff volunteers divided
enthusiasm raised at the campaign, during which SABIC staff themselves into different groups to support the
to participate and the Center’s students took part in a musical event. About 450 children participated in the events,
in such program, with performances by both volunteers which included sack races, lemon-spoon races and
and students. This was followed by high tea to racing on tricycles. They also took part in activities
opportunities commemorate the occasion. such as breaking the pyramid, threading beads,
to give back to Venugopal Koka, Business Leader, said: finding the marble in sand, throw ball, and shot putt.
society, year “SABIC employees’ involvement with the Janata The volunteers played key roles in explaining the
Rehabilitation Training Center has been an events to the children, and encouraged them to
after year” enriching experience, and our 2010 efforts were no participate to the best of their abilities. They also
Venugopal Koka, Business
exception. Our staff have shown great enthusiasm escorted the winners to the dais to receive their
Leader, SABIC IP India
to participate in such opportunities to give back to medals and certificates, and counseled those who
society, year after year”. did not win.
The Friends Society whole-heartedly thanked
SPORTS DAY SABIC and its staff volunteers for participating
In another initiative, employees at SABIC IP Vadodara, in the Sports Day, and helping to make it a
along with volunteers from an NGO, Friends Society, memorable event.
organized a one-day sports event for children with
special needs.
Friends Society is a voluntary youth organization
that provides opportunities to students from
the Maharaja Sayajirao of Vadodara University to
conduct needs-based community service projects.
Formed in August 1969, the group’s special
volunteer programs also promote the students’
self-development to become good and responsible
members of society.
The All Vadodara Special Children Sports Meet
was attended by Balkrishna Shukla, Member of

42 SABIC May/June 2011


BELOW Foundation students
with SABIC staff in Houston
Saudi scholarship
students attend
orientation program
in Houston
A new batch of students gains vital insights
into academic and cultural adjustments
SABIC Americas held an orientation program for
82 new Foundation Year students from Saudi Arabia
in Houston in January. The students will attend a
pre-academic Foundation Year Program at one of
five universities: Columbia University, University
of Pennsylvania, Boston University, University
of Texas-Austin, and Texas A&M University.
The Foundation Year Program, launched in
January 2009, is designed to prepare scholarship
students for the academic and cultural challenges of
attending top US universities. The program includes
Corporate social responsibility
TOEFL/SAT test preparation, study skills courses,
and preparation for undergraduate admissions.
Waleed Al-Kowaileet, Education Programs
Manager, and Anna Oliva, Student Services Director,
welcomed the students at a dinner. During the
orientation, Prof John Shannon of Trine University
presented a cultural adjustment workshop, focusing
on the students’ transition to a new culture and
steps to academic and personal success. Advisors
and coordinators led sessions on immigration,
emergency procedures, program policies and
classroom etiquette. Mohammed Bin Battal, Regional
Sales Manager, Polymers, spoke to the students
about his own professional experience with SABIC.
Three current Foundation Year students, Khalid
Alhazmi, Abdulrahman Monshi, and Abdulkariem
Alshehri, and one former Foundation Year student,
Hamdan Alghamdi, attended the orientation as
student mentors, presenting their experiences
and addressing students’ questions. University
coordinators from each of the Foundation Year
programs participated in the orientation and
traveled with the students to their new universities.
The students have since settled in their
respective universities and will participate in the
program for three semesters before beginning
their undergraduate programs in Fall 2012.
A total of 72 current Foundation Year students
are in the middle of the application process and
will begin full-time academics in Fall 2011.
May/June 2011 SABIC 43
BEHIND THE SCENES

New pathways
to Performance
Management
A company with operations as complex as SABIC sits on mountains of
information scattered around different places in the organization. But most
of this information should actually be interconnected as it could be relevant
to larger corporate objectives. To make sure SABIC harnesses this resource,
EMDAD is introducing a new Performance Management system that
leverages Business Intelligence and Data Quality

EMDAD, SABIC’s supply chain project that is now
nearing completion, has been working on a number
of initiatives that are aimed at improving SABIC’s
service levels and efficiency. As the supply chain
has an impact on almost every aspect of SABIC’s
business, EMDAD has been focused on developing
and implementing new systems that are vital to the
company’s journey towards vision 2020 and making
SABIC the preferred world leader in chemicals. One
new system that generated a lot of excitement
is the use of Business Intelligence (BI) to enhance
Performance Management (PM) in SABIC.
The new SABIC BI system is under construction.
It is an initiative which began within the supply
chain but will eventually be rolled out across SABIC.
“The decision to roll out Business Intelligence
beyond the supply chain to the entire organization
is far-sighted,” says Abdullah Bazid, Executive Vice
President, Corporate Strategy and Planning. “Taking
SABIC to the next level of Performance Management
using BI will need a cooperative effort, and will take
time, but the benefits are clear and tremendous.”
CRITICAL TO VISION 2020
“Performance Management is the key to realizing
our corporate vision,” says Mark Tarrant, GM of the
new Business Process and Data Quality Governance
Center, who is working with EMDAD on BI. “It’s
not about having the latest systems. PM simply is
a tool enabling us to learn more and improve our
performance; it’s about integrating the tools into our
everyday jobs so that we can get better over time.”
PM relies on two fundamental business assets
to help SABIC achieve its goals: data and
organizational alignment.
For SABIC, it is important to harness the power of
the data that exists at various locations within the
company – about customers, markets and internal
developments. Although SABIC is the owner of a
mine of useful data, it is a challenge to use it as a
source of competitive advantage. PM provides a way
to quickly filter, sort and transform that raw data
into useful business information that will be essential
in driving decisions which deliver better customer
services, faster responses to market needs and
organizational improvements.
The second important point is the alignment of
efforts. Even if a company has the best teams in
the world, there would be chaos if they pull the
organization in different directions. PM will be a key
tool to align all SBUs, working teams and individual
employees to ensure that all talents are used to
move the organization in the same direction –
towards Vision 2020.
“We have access to the talents and the data we
need,” Tarrant explains. “What PM can do is ensure
that we are using them effectively by making it
easy to access relevant information and to integrate
everyone’s efforts across the organization.”

44 SABIC May/June 2011

BEHIND THE SCENES

May/June 2011 SABIC 45

March/April
BEHIND THE SCENES

left: The SABIC team with “We want to be able

MEASURING PROGRESS
Setting meaningful targets for SABIC means translating
SABIC’s goals into specific performance targets
measured by KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and
tracking them at regular intervals. At the executive
level, for example, performance is measured using
KPIs such as EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes,
Depreciation and Amortization), Safety, Health and
Environment Ratio (SHER), Sales Volume, Customer
Service Index and Employee Retention.
The targets cascade down through the SBUs
and teams to ensure that the efforts of every
SABIC employee all add together to meet the
organisation’s objectives.
consultants and contractors
who have been working on the
to set strategic targets
project at corporate level, but
collect feedback data
from the bottom up,” says Tarrant. “It is all about
how individuals and teams contribute to SABIC and
how we can improve. We need to make quite clear
the link between SABIC’s goals, individuals’ roles and
concrete action.”
“It really turns abstract ideas about improving
performance into something concrete and
measureable. Of course there will always be a place
for the subjective,” continues Tarrant. “That element
of business judgement is still vital to success, but
with a robust information base, our judgement will
be much better.”
VITAL LINK
The BI dashboards and reports are two key
assessment tools that help in the implementation
of the new PM program. Dashboards which track
the performance of the organization and SBU
performance at various levels are being refined
and rolled out even as new dashboards are being
developed to track and monitor lower level KPIs.
“In an organization as complex as SABIC, we

“In an
organization
as complex
as SABIC, we
literally have
mountains and
mountains of
data constantly
flowing through
our systems –
translating that
into something
which is
focused, usable
and actionable
is unbelievably
powerful”
Mark Tarrant, GM of the
new Data Quality and Business
Process Governance Center

46 SABIC May/June 2011

 BEHIND THE SCENES

literally have mountains and mountains of data

constantly flowing through our systems – translating
that into something which is focused, usable and
actionable is unbelievably powerful,” explains
Tarrant. “By using the BI dashboards and reports
we will be able to see at a glance how the business
is performing, quickly spot where issues might be,
drill down to find the causes and take action to
address them.”

DATA QUALITY
The dashboards provide a window into the
underlying data and expose specific opportunities
to improve data quality. “What we found early on
through testing the dashboards is that they throw
light on many data quality issues. We have to
continually improve the data or else the real value of
solutions will not be realized,” Tarrant adds.
EMDAD is working to iron out issues and
establish both a foundation of reliable data and a
framework for ensuring consistent improvement
and sustainability of data quality but there’s still a
lot to do. As the EMDAD project nears completion,
the need for ongoing stewardship and improvement
of data quality will be addressed by the Business
Process and Data Quality Governance Center.

BI CHAMPIONS
“It feels like something powerful is within our grasp,
but it will require every one of us to change and
adapt,” comments Bazid. “I’ve spent over 30 years
at SABIC and I know that we have the capability to
adapt to changes, quickly and effectively. SABIC has
thrived on change, entering new markets, acquiring
new businesses, and embracing new management
programs. We must now embrace Performance
Management with the same enthusiasm and use it
as a decision-making tool.”
The dashboard view The executive dashboards went live in February
2011 and the SBU level dashboards are due in
April 2011. Launches of other dashboards will be
progressively rolled out during the second and third
quarters of 2011 so that eventually, each manager
will be able to access the dashboards relevant to
Cockpit view their field of work. When EMDAD winds down, the
tracks KPIs on
summary form responsibility for the use of BI throughout SABIC will
pass to the new PM and BI Governance Center, which
will function under Corporate Strategy.
SABIC’s senior management is giving top priority
to PM. The CEO and EVPs have actively participated
in engagement sessions related to BI and PM, and
the new dashboards are being introduced to the
VPs and GMs in the next phase. A network of 55 ‘BI
Champions’ is being trained throughout SABIC to
demonstrate the power of the system and provide
Analysis view support to users.
allows drill
down to an “They are not automated improvement
additional level mechanisms,” concludes Tarrant. “They are the tools
of detail
that help us make decisions – however, the decisions
still need to be taken by people.”

May/June 2011 SABIC 47

RESPONSIBLE TRANSPORTATION
VNCI honors SABIC with
Responsible Care award
Dutch industry body cites reduced risks in
transporting hazardous substances
“I am proud SABIC has won the Dutch Chemical Industry
Federation (Vereniging van de Nederlandse
that SABIC’s Chemische Industrie - VNCI) Responsible Care award
revolutionary for 2011. The award came in recognition of SABIC’s
safety vision safety efforts and success in reducing the risks
of transporting hazardous substances. SABIC has
has been implemented a number of safety policies which go
rewarded far beyond the statutory and regulatory provisions.
with the In addition, SABIC also actively involves its suppliers in
safety improvements throughout the logistics chain
presentation of (see report on facing page).
this Responsible Two tangible examples of this are the Rail Safety
Care award” Policy and the Responsible Care requirement
Huub Meessen, for our haulers. The judging panel decided that
SABIC Vice President by introducing this new safety policy, SABIC has
for Europe proved itself to be an excellent example of how to
implement transport safety. In the view of the panel
48 SABIC May/June 2011
left Henny Egberink,
Vice President Manufacturing
for Europe
below the award winning team
of experts and also the general public, who were
able to cast their vote for the first time, SABIC has set
the standard with this safety policy.
Huub Meessen, SABIC Vice President for Europe,
said he is “proud that SABIC’s revolutionary safety
vision has been rewarded with the presentation
of this Responsible Care award. I hope that our
initiatives contribute to new standards being put in
place within the chemical industry which will then
further increase safety during the transportation of
hazardous substances.”
Henny Egberink, Vice President Manufacturing for
Europe, said “SABIC would not have been able to
win this award without the efforts and inspiration of
our staff members involved and the cooperation of
our haulers who wholeheartedly support our vision
to demonstrate, through our actions as well as our
words, that safety is being placed at the top of the
agenda not only at SABIC but throughout the entire
logistics chain.”
Frank Claus, Director Supply Chain Chemicals
Europe, was the initiator of the current
transportation policy and started developing this
rewarded vision back in 2007 together with Henk
Bril, Michel Wintraecken en Matthijs Ploumen. He
commented: “I am tremendously proud of the
team; we have been implementing our innovative
vision during the past 4 years. It took enormous
efforts but with a lot of commitment and hard
working, we did it! The Responsible Care Award is
the icing on the cake.”

Focus on safety and
on-time supplies
SABIC deploys new Rail Tank Cars (RTCs) to transport chemicals
in the Netherlands, achieving higher levels of safety and
customer satisfaction
After adopting a new Rail Safety Policy in 2010,
SABIC’s chemical supply chain in Europe has deployed
a new state-of-the-art Rail Tank Car (RTC) fleet to
replace old ones. The new fleet boasts enhanced
safety and security features, offers a variety of
economic and environmental benefits and has
created a more efficient supply chain. The new RTCs
were deployed in early 2011.
“We’re renewing the RTC fleet to enhance our
safety and environmental performance. The RTCs
we are now replacing are around 20 years old and
do not have important safety equipment like crash
buffers and silent brakes,” explains Mathijs Ploumen,
Senior Sourcing & Contracting Officer, Supply
Chain Chemicals Europe. “By hiring state-of-the-art
equipment, we achieve two important goals – we
create a safer and more efficient supply chain,
further reducing the risks from the transportation of
dangerous goods.”
RESPONSIBLE TRANSPORTATION
TRENDSETTER IN SAFETY
Commenting on the situation surrounding
the replacement of the RTCs, Henk Bril, Expert
Distribution Safety at SABIC says: “Due to the high
population density in the Netherlands, a tension
exists between spatial planning projects, and the
transport of dangerous substances that can lead to
unacceptable risks for society. Therefore, SABIC has
decided to become a front runner in the industry
by improving the safety of our logistics and making
the transport of these dangerous goods as safe as
possible. We see now other companies following our
policy, so we can indeed be considered being the
trendsetter in transport safety.”
“The RTCs are developed and produced in
Europe with the newest technology and they have
outstanding safety features,” says Jürgen Holtermann
of Aretz GmbH & Co. – the company that leases the
RTCs to SABIC. The new RTCs are fitted with:
left Rail Tank Cars (RTCs)
are widely used to supply
chemicals. SABIC’s deployment
of new RTCs (pictured
overleaf) has resulted in
significant economy of scale
and strengthened safety and
environmental benefits
May/June 2011 SABIC 49
RESPONSIBLE TRANSPORTATION

“The • Crash buffers that absorb large amounts of energy

cooperation if there is a collision.
• Composite brake blocks that ensure noise
with SABIC was reduction, which is especially important at night
perfect. This when a major percentage of freight trains operate.
teamwork led • 25-ton wheel sets that provide an extra safety
margin of 10 tons on the total weight an RTC
to a cutting can handle.
edge technology • Telematics, a location tracking and tracing
RTC. The new technology that also stores relevant information
about the vehicle.
equipment “The new RTCs can take up to 10 percent more
requires less product in the tank which means 10 percent
maintenance, saving on the overall transportation load and Commenting on the collaboration with SABIC,
a corresponding reduction in the frequency of Jürgen Holtermann of Aretz GmbH said: “The entire
so the effective loading and unloading activities between us and process was characterized by the consistently
time the RTC our customers,” says Ploumen. “The saving on the sincere and open discussions.”
is available for transportation load will also result in reducing its “The cooperation with SABIC was perfect,” says
environmental impact.” Vrolings. “This teamwork led to a cutting edge
transport is as SC Chemicals Europe Sourcing and Contracting, technology RTC. The new equipment requires
large as possible. SABIC’s Expert Distribution Safety and SABIC less maintenance, so the effective time the RTC is
This improves suppliers worked closely to ensure that the project available for transport is as large as possible. This
is implemented efficiently. Wiel Vrolings from improves transport quality and our staff prefers
transport DB Schenker – a leading international provider working with the new RTCs!”
quality” of integrated logistics services – supported the
Jürgen Holtermann, technical design of the RTCs. Aretz GmbH & Co. –
Aretz GmbH Business Unit a specialist in the field of RTC management – above & Below Newly
commissioned RTCs that are
worked with SABIC on the design and concept used now to transport SABIC
of the vehicles. chemicals in the Netherlands

50 SABIC May/June 2011

 RESPONSIBLE TRANSPORTATION

SABIC Polymers takes to

intermodal transport
In Germany, switchover from trucks to intermodal transport
results in multiple benefits, including significant reduction in
carbon emissions
“We have SABIC Polymers has achieved impressive environmental efficiencies, Stam joined forces
significantly improvements in flexibility, reliability, customer with Marcel van Enckevort, International Account
service and cutting carbon emissions by switching Manager, SABIC Sales Europe. Together with logistics
reduced from a reliance on trucks to intermodal transport specialists, Bertschi, they developed a highly
our carbon – a combination of rail and road. SABIC Polymers flexible solution that achieved all their objectives by
emissions. worked closely between its in-house teams, third switching to intermodal transport. Now, polymer
party suppliers and one of its important customers loads travel by train as far the MSD site, where a
That’s good in realizing this achievement. truck makes the final delivery.
news for us, Commenting on the background to an innovative Because Gelsenkirchen and the MSD plant are
good news solution that exemplifies SABIC’s customer-first, only 450 km apart, finding a road haulier to carry
environmentally aware culture, Eddy Stam, Category polymer shipments from the rail terminal to the final
for MSD – Manager, Sourcing & Contracting, said: “Until last delivery point without raising transport costs was
and good December, our production plant in Gelsenkirchen not easy. “Fortunately,” says van Enckevort, “MSD
news for the delivered around 40 trucks a week to the Manuli has a rail connection on its site and Bertschi already
Stretch Deutschland (MSD) plant in Skopau, Eastern operated at Skopau. Without these two factors
environment” Germany, by road. Over a period of time, the working in our favor, shifting to intermodal transport
Marcel van Enckevort,
challenges of doing this efficiently became clear. would have been impossible.”
International Account
First, transporting such massive volumes of polymers
Manager, SABIC Sales Europe
into the area was causing traffic congestion. LOADS OF BENEFITS
“Second, MSD manufactures stretch film. It is a Work on the new model began in August 2010
highly competitive market and demand is difficult to and it has been in place since December 1.
predict. As a result, MSD has to frequently change “Throughout the discussions, we were in constant
its orders at short notice, often daily. During peak communication with MSD on flexibility, capacity,
periods, we were using three different road hauliers pricing and other variables. Keeping everyone on
below An aerial view of
the MSD plant in Skopau,
to deliver 10 trucks every day – an arrangement board throughout the negotiations was vital to a
Eastern Germany that was also tough to manage. Among other issues, successful transition,” says Stam.
the three hauliers were Listing the benefits of switching to intermodal
not connected, which transport, van Enckevort says: “First, we can
made co-coordinating now manage the fluctuations in capacity more
deliveries difficult and effectively. After all, a truck can only carry a
often unreliable, causing single load while a train can transport several
costly delays.” containers at a time, according to demand.
Despite the Second, we have opened up extra road capacity
challenges, MSD has for truck deliveries to our other customers in
grown to become the region. And because MSD now deals directly
SABIC’s biggest polymer with a single contact at Bertschi, the customer
customer in the region. can schedule daily deliveries more reliably,
Spotting an opportunity eliminating costly delays.
to improve customer “What’s more, we have significantly reduced our
satisfaction levels while carbon emissions. That’s good news for us, good
maximizing cost and news for MSD – and good news for the environment.”

May/June 2011 SABIC 51

lifestyle

52 SABIC May/June 2011

 lifestyle

Work out in style,

at your convenience
If there’s one lifestyle trend that cuts across the age, class,
culture and national divides and barriers, it’s perhaps the
health and fitness rage. For good reasons too.

The adage that ‘Health is Wealth’ enjoys universal HIGH-END MACHINES

appeal, and the benefits are as obvious as indicated
by the saying. It also tells us that the human
emphasis on maintaining good health is much older
than the modern treadmill, but in our times the
‘gym craze’ has attained a fad status. Time was
when the gymnasium in town was the privilege
of a few who could afford it. With mass-produced
exercise equipment becoming more affordable,
gym memberships are no more a luxury. More
and more people are turning to gyms and healthy
food as an investment in their future wellness.
It is estimated that gyms are also contributing
billions to the GDP in developed countries – such is
the madness about staying fit. Over the years, the
idea of setting up a gym at home has caught on,
especially in the West. While convenience is a major
factor in driving the trend, for many the rising cost
of gasoline and anticipation of further increases
make it more attractive to invest in a gym rather
than keep spending higher and higher on fuel.
Arthur Jones invented the Nautilus machines in the
late 1970s. He called this the thinking man’s barbell.
Post this breakthrough, invention of equipments
for physical training grew enormously. The concept
of a home gym evolved in the 1990s. However,
a home gym was still an unaffordable luxury for
most people, unlike today when households that
have a treadmill, or an elliptical, or an exercise bike,
or maybe all of them, are not so uncommon.
So why play Uncle Scrooge when it comes to health
enhancing snazzy looking work-out equipments?
When buying an exercise bike, there’s nothing like a
Trixter X- dream which is priced at a little less than
US$ 10,000 (about SR 37,500) and has earned the
accolade of being Maxim’s Exercise Product of the
Year Award in 2008. When choosing an elliptical,
nothing beats the Life Fitness CSX which costs
around $ 5,700 (over SR 21,000). With 18 workout
programs including Classic, Sync and Special
workouts, this high tech piece of art is hard to beat.
If a treadmill is a more obvious choice, the Life A home gym
Fitness CST Club Series is the most extravagant way was still an
of running – with 16 programs and six memory slots. unaffordable
However, if one is searching for a multi gym, the Life
Fitness G7 Multi gym is bound to impress. Priced at luxury for most
only around US $ 4,500 (about SR 16,900), this dual people, unlike
adjustable pulley multi gym is not just a treat for the today when
body but also for the eyes. A discussion on a luxury
home gym would be quite incomplete without the households
mention of the Powerplate Pro5 Vibration Plate. that have a
Most expensive of the lot with a price tag of about treadmill, or an
US$ 12,400 (about SR 46,500), this machine promises
style and fitness. “Power Plate machines are a favorite elliptical, or an
in the homes of celebrities such as Elle MacPherson, exercise bike, or
Dannii Minogue, Courteney Cox, Claudia Schiffer and maybe all of
many more,” says Amanda Boyle, Head of Education
for the Power Plate Institute of Australia and them, are not
International Master Trainer. “They are also used by a so uncommon
May/June 2011 SABIC 53
lifestyle
One can save lot of elite athletes to keep them in peak condition –
the usually think PGA Golfers and World Cup football teams.”
exorbitant gym LESS COSTLY
membership However, not all brands are that expensive. The
fees and at idea of having a gym at home gym has been
catching up rapidly partly because there’s good
the same mix of the expensive and the affordable. Livestrong
time enjoy 7.9e Elliptical Trainer, for example, is priced at just
the priceless over US$ 1,200 (about SR 4,500) with 8 programs,
16 resistance levels, built in polar receiver, iPod/
convenience of MP3 connectivity is an excellent choice without
being able to making a gaping hole in the users’ pocket. Vision
work out in a E1500 Exercise bike offers Incline, Rolling Hills,
Mountain for less than $850 (just over SR 3100).
personal space Also, when it comes to treadmills, Livestrong
at any point of offers a lot of affordable variety like the 7.9t
time during the Treadmill. As for multi gyms, the Bodymax C10
homegym is an inexpensive yet fantastic way to
day or night burn those calories with 10 different exercises
that enable Chest Press, Shoulder Press, Lat
Pulldown, Leg Extension, Leg Curl and Butterfly.
There is more to a home gym than just the
elliptical, treadmills, exercise bikes and multi
gyms. Equipments like dumbbells, ab machines,
rowers, steppers, benches, smith machines and
vibration plates are also available for an efficient
luxury or budget home gym from brands such as
Argos, Bodycraft, Bodymax, Infiniti Fitness Systems,
Leisurelines, Vibratec and Vision Fitness in all kinds of
prices, high and low.
WOMEN’S AND MEN’S
According to equipment manufacturer Livestrong,
the best home gym for a woman is one that allows
her to perform the most effective exercises while
at the same time enables workouts intended to
build muscle and burn fat. And hence barbells,
dumbbells, an adjustable bench, a squat rack or
power rack are very much sufficient in a woman’s
home gym. However, keeping in mind the need
for space conserving equipment in a typical condo
or an apartment and also considering women’s
taste for the sleek and stylish, Danskin Empower
Women’s home gym claims to be a Universal
gym combined with a free weight station.
When it comes to gym equipment for men,
the choice is obviously grander. Apart from the
54 SABIC May/June 2011
from LEFT Trixter X- dream, choices available to
Bodymax C10 homegym, life
Fitness CSX, , Vision E1500
women, there could be
a few more additions
Exercise bike
in this segment. The
Nautilus NS 300X Home Gym is touted as a fantastic
choice if money and space is not a concern. With
30 strength exercises, this equipment boasts
of attachments which enable workout to be
upgraded at any point of time. Another tool that
is recommended to embellish any man’s home
gym is the Bowflex Select Tech Dumbells. These
help build killer biceps with the help of a mere
dial twist that helps to adjust weight from 2 to
21 Kilos. Also a mentionworthy newbee in the
market is the Kettlebells. These are iron weights
which are also the favorites of celebrities like
Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey.
In addition to the rising fuel prices, there are
other factors that make the alternative option of
a home gym so alluring. One can save the usually
exorbitant gym membership fees and at the same
time enjoy the priceless convenience of being able
to work out in a personal space at any point of time
during the day or night. And what’s more, with
the gym right in the next room and the constant
reminder of the fixed investment made, there is
definitely no room for laziness to get the better
out of people, thus making workout an integral
part of even the common man’s daily regime.
WORD OF CAUTION
Experts do sound a word of caution for those
who are ready to have a gym at home. Beginners
are advised to seek help from a trainer, at least
in the initial ‘do-it-yourself’ period. If the cost of
maintaining a personal trainer is too harsh on the
pocket, online personal trainers are the next best
alternative to figure out a healthy and effective
workout schedule. Someone suffering from a heart
condition, diabetes or any other form of ailment,
indulging a rigorous home gym without medical
advice and trainer support is a strict no-no.
Will the home gym ultimately give commercial
gyms a serious run for their money? That
is quite unlikely, but the convenience of
the home gym and the prospect of cash
savings seem set to drive up the demand
for home gyms for a long time to come.
The Naseef House in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is a major tourist attraction.
It is more than 100 years old and has been renovated and turned into a
museum. The building is several stories high, offering incredible views
of Jeddah city.
IT TAKES PARTNERSHIP, POLYMERS
AND 420 MILES OF PIPELINE TO
QUENCH HER THIRST.

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