SABIC

January/February 2009 Issue 90

Prince Saud receives
Albanian minister

METHANOL: THE FUEL

OF TOMORROW

SABIC invests in Eastern

European sales center

HAIL BAJA RETURNS TO SAUDI

SAND DUNES
 FOREWORD
Welcome to issue 90 of the SABIC magazine. SABIC is very happy to
report the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of
Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the King Saud University to establish a SABIC
Center for the Development of Plastics Applications.
Also in plastics and polymers, we bring you news of a utilization of our proprietary
Noryl GTX Resins by both Ford and Nissan in a bid to reduce the weight of
automobiles. Furthermore, the launch of the SABIC Global Polymers Product Sharing our futures
Portfolio helps customers find the products and company contacts they
need – across the growing SABIC world.
8 EMDAD training held in Asia 11 SABIC Shanghai Golf Tournament The global plastics team has also been busy attending the Arab International
Plastics and Rubber Industry Trade Show and Conference, which was held in Dubai
in January – we bring you a report from the show.
One of the most significant announcements in this issue is the launch of the SABIC
New Operating Model Project, which is designed to completely restructure the
4-11 NEWS: The inside story with news, views company globally to prepare it for a new era. We also bring you an analysis of the
General Supervisor: Mohamed H. Al-Mady and comments Change Acceleration Process, which will help leaders across global SABIC to lead
Vice-Chairman and CEO effective change as we pursue our SABIC 2020 vision.
12-15 INNOVATION NEWS: SABIC breaks ground Another element of our evolving change is to embrace new cultures in the areas
Editor-in-Chief: Othman M. Al-Humaidi with state-of-the-art product launches in which we grow our business. For this reason SABIC has launched a Scholarship
General Manager Program to educate our most ambitious employees on local cultures and languages.
Corporate Communications 16-19 SUCCESS STORY: Noryl GTX resin has We bring you a report on the early success stories. In a further bid to educate our
allowed both Ford and Renault to slash the global workforce we bring you another product profile – this month looking at methanol.
Managing Editor: Abdulaziz H. Al-Ageel weight of their new model vehicles Regrettably we must also report a dramatic drop in demand for petrochemicals
Manager Media & External as a result of global recession we are all experiencing. This decline hit SABIC’s
20-23 YEAR IN REVIEW: Take a look back at the profitability with the preliminary consolidated financial results for the year
Communications
achievements made throughout the SABIC ending December 31, 2008, reporting a 19% drop in net profits.
Contributions to SABIC magazine are welcome and may be sent world in 2008 On a happier note, SABIC is encouraged by continued prospects in Eastern Europe
to: abdulaziza@sabic.com and has expanded its sales office in Moscow and established a dedicated team to
Articles and letters received may be edited for length and clarity. 24-25 INTERVIEW: Al-Mady talks about the support regional customers.
Every effort has been made to report accurate information in
challenges and opportunities ahead in the In our popular lifestyle section we bring you a colorful feature on the 2009 Saudi
this publication. However, neither SABIC nor the publishers vouch
global petrochemical industry Arabian Hail Rally, which was sponsored by SABIC, with full details of the winners and
for its accuracy, neither do they indemnify any loss arising
photos from the sporting extravaganza. Yet again we have a wonderful competition,
through the use of the information. The views or opinions
expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of SABIC or 26-27 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: with a Media Player/Recorder up for grabs this month. As always, we hope you enjoy
the publisher. SABIC’s China Scholarship Program enables reading this issue and look forward to any feedback you may have.
employees to absorb the local culture
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation PO Box 5101 Managing Editor
Riyadh 11422, Saudi Arabia. 28-31 BEHIND THE SCENES: Global SABIC adopts
the ‘Change Acceleration Process’ – a best
SABIC magazine is published on behalf of
practice to help change endure
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation by:
32-35 COVER STORY: Methanol market
shows many signs of growth in new green
applications

36-37 SABIC CONFERENCES: SABIC takes center

stage at ArabPlast 2009 in Dubai
Project Manager: Khaled Al-Masri

Group Editor: K. Krishnakumar 38-41 LIFESTYLE: The sand dunes of Hail

Head of Design: Grigor Scott
resonate with the sound of motor sports

Designer: Hussain Mohammed Al-Bakri 42 SABIC COMPETITION

PO Box 301292, Riyadh 11372, Tel: +966 (1) 462 3632,
Email: gbcksa@gbcksa.com 28 Leading Effective Change 32 Methanol:
14 the fuel of tomorrow
RACING TO SUCCESS
Gray Business Communications 2009 ©
Reprinting in whole or in part is prohibited by law except with the prior
written approval of the publisher.

2 SABIC January/February 2009 SABIC January/February 2009 3

SABIC NEWS
Prince Saud receives Albanian minister
Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan
Al-Saud, Chairman of the Royal
Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and
Chairman of SABIC’s Board of Directors,
received Albania’s Foreign Affairs
Minister Lulzim Basha at the SABIC
headquarters in mid-February.
The minister, accompanied by
a delegation including Albanian
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Admirim
Banaj, government officials and
businessmen, held talks with the SABIC
delegation led by Prince Saud and
included Mutlaq Al-Morished, Vice
President Corporate Finance, Yousef
Abdullah Al-Benyan, Vice President,
Human Resources, and Mubarak Al-
Mubarak of the Royal Commission for
Jubail and Yanbu.
The meeting reviewed ways
of strengthening cooperation
SABIC posts SR 22 billion profit
SABIC has experienced a drop in
demand for petrochemicals as a
result of the global economic
recession.
The decline hit SABIC’s profitability
with the preliminary consolidated
financial results for the period ending
December 31, 2008, reporting a 95%
drop in net profits.
Net profits in the fourth quarter of
2008 amounted to SR 311 million
[US$83m], compared with SR 6.87
billion [US$1.83bn] in the fourth
quarter of 2007, a decline of 95% and
SR 7.24 billion in the previous quarter,
a decrease of 96%.
Generally, the sharp decline in the
results of the fourth quarter of 2008 can
be attributed to the decline in demand
for petrochemical products and metals
because of the economic recession that
has hit the world’s major economies, as
well as the credit crunch that led to dif-
ficulties for consumers in obtaining the
necessary financial facilities from banks
and financial institutions.
4 SABIC January/February 2009
Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud and Lulzim Basha at their meeting in Riyadh.
Extreme left is Mutlaq Al-Morished and extreme right is Albanian Deputy Minister of Finance
Sherefedin Shehu
between the Kingdom and Albania.
Al-Benayan made a presentation
that focused on the growth and
achievements of SABIC. Al-Mubarak
This led to an acceleration in the pace
of declining petrochemical product
prices.
The net profit for the 12-month period
ended on December 31, 2008 was SR
22 billion, compared to SR 27 billion
for the same period in 2007, a decrease
of 19%. The gross profit in the fourth
quarter of 2008 was SR 3.51 billion
compared to SR 13.35 billion for the
fourth quarter of 2007, a decrease of
74%, while the operating profit in the
fourth quarter of 2008 was SR 1.61
billion compared to SR 11.11 billion for
the fourth quarter of 2007,
a decrease of 86%.
The total production quantities
during 2008 rose by 2% while the
quantities sold have decreased by 1%
compared with the previous year.
of the Royal Commission presented
the significant and growing business
investment opportunities in the
industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu.
In a statement, Prince Saud bin
Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud,
Chairman of the Royal Commission
for Jubail and Yanbu and Chairman of
SABIC, said: “The decline in demand
for petrochemical products, particu-
larly specialty plastics, arising from the
crisis afflicting the global automotive
industry and building and construction
sectors, has had a strong impact on the
performance of SABIC affiliates outside
Saudi Arabia. This same decline has
been felt by similar companies
operating in the same industry.  for key market sectors including:
“SABIC’s investment in the past few
years will contribute to boosting
current production capacities,
therefore having a positive impact
on the company’s performance and
financial results in future years.”
SABIC invests in Eastern Europe
Geert Drummen, head of SABIC Eastern Europe
SABIC has expanded its sales office in
Moscow and established a dedicated
team to support regional customers.
At the Interplastica 2009 show, the
SABIC family of plastics businesses,
including SABIC Innovative Plastics and
SABIC Europe, demonstrated a strong
commitment to serving the Eastern
European market by introducing its
expanded and dedicated sales team,
all based in a new SABIC sales office
in Moscow. SABIC Innovative Plastics,
in the region for over a year, together
with the new resources of the SABIC
Europe team can now offer customers
regional expertise with a broad
understanding of their unique needs.
The activities of the new sales office
will extend across the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) as well as
the Baltic States.
The SABIC Eastern Europe team is
headed by Geert Drummen and SABIC
Innovative Plastics will continue to be
led by Juri Bercovitz. The teams will
focus on providing material solutions
automotive, building and construction,
electrical and lighting, packaging, pipe
and infrastructure and linear
low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) film.
For the second consecutive year,
SABIC exhibited a broad array of
high-performance materials targeting
these sectors at Interplastica in
Germany from Jan 27-30.
“SABIC Eastern Europe is ready for
business,” said Hubert Guth, SABIC
Europe’s Director Sales Offices.
“Having a dedicated sales
organization will allow us to improve
services to customers and ensure
efficient processes.
“We look forward to helping customers
effectively compete in the global
environment with a comprehensive
product portfolio, with smooth and
flexible transaction processes but also
with, application development and
processing optimization.”
Juri Bercovitz, Regional Manager
Eastern Europe, SABIC Innovative
Plastics, echoed the comments of Guth:
“In the last two years we proved to be
a reliable and committed world class
supplier for engineering plastics in
Russia and CIS. Our market share and
customer base is growing rapidly, and
with SABIC Europe’s additional local
resources, our depth of expertise in this
region is a great value for our customers.”
Eastern Europe is a globally important
emerging market with an annual GDP
of 6%. The areas of focus for SABIC’s
plastic businesses are showing strong
Sunrise, with a view of the Kremlin in Moscow
S
demand for materials solutions.
According to Geert Drummen, there
are interesting opportunities for
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and
polypropylene (PP) in the pipe sector,
as well as for SABIC LLDPE for film
applications.
In 2007, SABIC Innovative Plastics
launched its new Russian Automotive
division to accelerate market and
application development activities for
the rapidly expanding automotive
industry in Russia and the CIS.
“We want to be a strong player in
this segment,” said Bercovitz.
“Ernst and Young reports that
despite adverse global financial market
developments, Russia’s economy grew
by 8.1% in 2007 and the Russian
passenger car market grew by 36%,
with more than 2.4 million vehicles
sold.” Drummen added: “More than
10 global automotive players plan to
establish manufacturing facilities in
Russia, and as a result car production in
Russia is expected to increase by 45%
over the next four years, growing from
approximately 2.1 million to 3.1 million
units. In sales terms, Russia already
holds the sixth position in the
passenger car market globally and
is third in Europe.”
SABIC January/February 2009 5
SABIC NEWS S

Second Global Patent Network meeting held
Staff from offices in Riyadh, Houston, Vadodara and Geleen come together for the second
Patent Network meeting
SABIC patent experts came together
for three days from November 3, 2008
representatives from two external
partners - a patent agent in the Arab
between the four SABIC Patent
Network offices,” explained Johan
Pastwa, Patent Systems Manager, Geleen.
The first day also included a visit to the
Geleen office and an opportunity to
further discuss working procedures
and formalities with all of the offices.
For three years, the SABIC Patent
Network has been acting as a global
competence center within SABIC.
During this period, the network has
been able to integrate expertise from
various backgrounds and act as one
global team. “The opportunity to
come together like this and discuss
patenting issues enables us to achieve
Fertilizer Vice President visits customers In Asia
SABIC team visits a customer’s fertilizer plant
in Bangkok
SABIC recently hosted a dinner on the company’s setup and activities.
reception for key customers such as Following the visit to Thailand, the
Chia Tai, Sumi Thai Fertilizer and Thai SABIC team also visited The Philippines
Caprolactum in Thailand.  and met with fertilizer customers there.
Visiting from Riyadh were Fertilizer Al-Sheaibi thanked the customers in
Vice President Fahad Al-Sheabi and both countries for their valuable
Sales Manager Yousef Al-Dakheel. support in the past years and stressed
The SABIC Asia Pacific team was led that customers were partners of SABIC. 
by General Manager Ahmed Al Umar, SABIC Philippines office staff, led
Regional Manager Ng Boon Howe and by Country Manager Manny de Jesus,
Sales Manager Ayed Al-Mutairi.  thanked the SABIC team for the visit,
The SABIC team were also taken on a and said that it was clear testimony
tour of Chia Tai’s warehouse and berth of the management’s concern and
facilities, and attended a presentation support for its employees in the country.

to network and discuss patent devel-
opments and procedures across the
globe. Staff from four global offices
attended the second annual event held
at Chateau St. Gerlach, Valkenburg in the
Netherlands.Staff from the Riyadh,
Houston, Vadodara and Geleen
groups met together, alongside
region and a German patent
consultation partner - to give and take
part in numerous seminars and
informative lectures.
“The main aim of the event was to
allow the global network to share
best practices, experiences, and most
importantly to align the cooperation
Chinese delegation
many goals - including further
strengthening cooperation between
offices,” added Pastwa. “We also achieved Workshop on
an additional objective – to integrate the
two external partner companies into the intellectual property visits GAS and UNITED
network. The event has made the SABIC
Patent Network a stronger team with
many new goals for 2009.”
for SABIC staff 
SABIC Legal Affairs conducted a two-day workshop on
intellectual property (IP) and its role within the company

R&T network to share ideas and experiences on December 29 and 30.

The First Technology Exchange Meeting
(TEM) of SABIC Research & Technology
centers took place at SABIC Europe’s head
office in Sittard, on December 16 – 17.
The TEM was the result of efforts to
integrate SABIC’s R&T programs and
ideas from around the world. The
initiative is being strongly supported
by the Technology Leaders of SABIC
Abdulrahman Al-Ubaid, Corporate
Vice President R&T, Tom Stanley, Vice
President Technology SABIC Innovative
Plastics, and Frank Kuijpers, Director
R&D SABIC Europe. The main objective
is to have experts within the SABIC R&T
network meeting in order to learn and
know each other, share knowledge,
create opportunities and accelerate
new developments and innovation
within the global company.
This first TEM focused around three
subjects: cracking, polyolefin catalysis
and compounding. Three workshop
leaders Muquddar Hussain (SABIC
Corporate), Patrick Marteel (SABIC
Innovative Plastics) and Dieter Bilda
(SABIC Europe) organized several
presentations and discussions around
these three subjects with about 30
experts from SABIC across the globe.
Ideas have been exchanged to build
on this first TEM to create an experts
network within the company. The
network members will interact on a
regular basis through meetings and
First TEM of SABIC Research & Technology centers takes place at SABIC Europe’s head office in Sittard
internet or video conferences. This first
meeting has also set the pace for creating
a global R&T organization, as the objective
of SABIC’s Global Organizational Model.
SABIC’s R&T minds from India, Saudi
Arabia, Europe and the US appreciated
the opportunity to meet and discuss
matters of mutual and corporate
interest, and took away several ideas
for the future from this meeting.
The workshop that was entitled, ‘An introduction to
Intellectual Property’, was one in a series of Legal Learning
modules delivered by SABIC Legal Affairs. The department
is seeking to increase awareness of important legal issues
among SABIC employees.
The workshop highlighted the importance of IP rights in
today’s challenging business environment and provided an
introduction to patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade
secrets. The workshop further stressed the need to protect
IP created at SABIC, to leverage it in maximizing SABIC’s
competitive position, and in avoiding liability by infringing
the IP rights of others.
Other workshops in the series included ‘Legal for Non-Legal’,
‘Anti Dumping and Trade Remedies’, ‘Anti-Trust’, ‘Shipping’
and ‘Force Majeure’.
GAS President Ali Hamid Al-Ghamdi (second from left) in discussion
with the Chinese delegation.
A high-level Chinese delegation from Sinopec, and its
affiliates, visited the National Industrial Gases Company
(GAS) and Jubail United Petrochemical Company (UNITED)
on December 13.
During the visit the delegation met President of GAS,
Ali Hamid Al-Ghamdi and President of UNITED, Abdullah
Muqbil Al-Qara’awi, who made two presentations that
focused on the progress and achievements of the two
companies. The presentations covered various feedstocks
produced for industrial gases, global marketing, latest
technology, security, safety and environment related aspects.
The delegation toured the two companies and inspected
the production lines, products, control rooms and facilities.
The guests noted the industrial progress made in the
Kingdom and seemed confident about the success of the
strategic partnership between SABIC and Sinopec, which
seeks to establish the largest joint industrial complex in
Tianjin, China.

6 SABIC January/February 2009 SABIC January/February 2009 7

SABIC NEWS S

EMDAD training Long service staff are rewarded

held in Asia SABIC has honored staff from its
offices in Asia and Saudi Arabia for
their long-term service and
commitment to the company.
Yousef Al-Benyan, SABIC Vice
President, Corporate Human Resources
and Corporate Communications, said
that people are the company’s most
important resource and that it is vital
that it takes care of employees in terms
of boosting their work confidence, job
satisfaction and overall staff welfare.
“This is even more important now
during these times of financial crisis
EMDAD training underway in Singapore
and boosting work confidence has
become more crucial,” he said.

SABIC to use Active Logistics staff, sales managers and sales administrators in
SABIC Asia offices attended an EMDAD training course in
Staff from the various offices of
SABIC Asia Pacific attended an event

Risk Manager Singapore from February 2-5.

software
SABIC has signed a contract with the Strategic Thought
Group plc, a provider of enterprise risk management
software, to use its Active Risk Manager software.
This web-based enterprise risk
management system supports multi-cultural processes
from different areas such as corporate, audit,
management and projects by consolidating data to
record, manage and mitigate risk.
The course aims at enhancing as well as developing a rapid
in Shanghai, in January, to honor their
long-term service to the company.
and strong concept of Supply Chain Management, building Those employees that had completed
strong relationships towards its Global Partnership, and 5, 10 and 15 years of service with the
continuing EMDAD’s main objectives. company received awards.
The course covered supply chain planning, Customer The Regional Manager of Finance,
Clustering, KPIs, Logistics Process Excellence, Order to Cash, SC Lee Kheng Yean, celebrated his 15
IT Tools and Demand Planning. The course was instructed by years with the company in Asia. “When
the EMDAD team leaders along with other external instructors. I first joined, there were less than 10
General Manager of SABIC Asia Pacific Ahmed Al-Umar staff at SABIC Asia Pacific and now we
opened the session and gave his strong support towards will have more than 200 employees
making the EMDAD training a fruitful and successful event for next year,” said Yean.
all the 30 attendees from various offices in Asia. Another employee, Lito Azcarraga,
Certificates and souvenir group photos were distributed to the SABIC Asia Pacific I.T. Manager,
all participants on the last day of the training. had been with SABIC HQ for 10 years
before moving to the Asia HQ in
Singapore. Now he celebrates his
tenth year at SABIC Asia Pacific.
HADEED staff awarded for their long term commitment to SABIC
Ahmed Al-Umar, General Manager of
SABIC Asia Pacific, said: “Showing
appreciation to employees is always
important. As such, we make it a practice
to honor employees for their long-term
service with the company and I hope
we will be honoring more and more
employees in the years to come.”
Meanwhile, the President of HADEED,
Abdulaziz Al-Humaid, held a ceremony
at the company’s Maritime Camp in
Jubail on January 25, to honor
employees who completed 15 and 20
years of service. Al-Humaid appreciated
the efforts of the employees and
urged them to continue their work
as one team. He awarded them with
certificates and plaques of recognition.
On behalf of Prince Saud bin
Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud,
Chairman of the Royal Commission
for Jubail and Yanbu and Chairman
of SABIC, Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice
Chairman and CEO, sponsored a
ceremony to honor employees who
have completed 30 and 25 years
of service.
The function took place at the ‘Open-Day’

Plastic center for Riyadh Technology Valley
SABIC, the Ministry of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources, and the King Saud
University (KSU), signed a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) in Riyadh on
December 23 to establish a SABIC
Center for the Development of
Plastics Applications.
The center will be established at the
Riyadh Technology Valley, KSU, on an
area of 1,000 square meters, at a cost
of about SR 375 million [US$100m].
The center aims to develop specialty
and advanced plastics applications
for industrial development under the
national program for the development
of various industrial sectors. Other
industries to be covered include
automotive, tires and accessories,
electronic devices, household
appliances, fiber and packaging
materials, pipes and accessories,
medical care and supplies, and
applications produced by way of
mixing different polymers to serve
industries and customers using SABIC
products in the Kingdom and abroad.
About 100 researchers and
technicians are expected to be
employed at the center. They will
contribute to scientific and
research-oriented universities and
create a link between researchers at
universities and end-manufacturers
in the plastics industries.
The center will also provide an
opportunity for students to work in
various industrial sectors, including
research centers. It will also be the
nucleus for future expansions in this
area and open new channels of
communication between universities
and the industrial sector. The center
will complement SABIC’s global centers
in the US and Europe, with the application
of leading-edge technologies.
organized by the General Services
Department for the employees and
their children on January 15 at SABIC
Camp in Thumamah.
In his opening remarks, Al-Mady
welcomed the gathering and said
SABIC had reached the global level as
a leading petrochemical company
because of the sustained efforts of
its employees. He thanked Mohammed
Saleh Al-Jabr and Abdul Rahman
Abdul-Karim Al-Angari, who were
honored on this occasion, for their
services in the company. Mohammed
Al-Jabr spoke on behalf of the
awardees and thanked the Chairman
of the board and the CEO.
SABIC Asia Pacific staff pictured after award ceremony in Shanghai

8 SABIC January/February 2009 SABIC January/February 2009 9

SABIC NEWS
SABIC appreciated as one of BOAO
FORUM diamond sponsors
The Boao Secretariat held an
Appreciation Ceremony for sponsors
of the Boao Forum 2009, in Beijing on
January 7. SABIC is one of three
Diamond Sponsors for the Boao Forum
2009, which is the highest category
of sponsor. The BFA Annual Conference
2009 will be held on April 17–19,
2009, in Boao, Hainan Province, China.
Now in its ninth year, the Boao Annual
Forum has become one of the most
influential economic forums in Asia,
bringing together more than a
thousand world leaders, business
executives, and scholars each year.
Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice
Chairman and CEO, was nominated and
accepted as the 12th board member to
the council for the Boao Forum last year.
The council is chaired by the former
Philippines President Fidel Ramos.
In conjunction with the appreciation
ceremony, a press conference was also
Beijing offices
co-located
SABIC’s Beijing office recently became
the second in Asia to co-locate with
SABIC Innovative Plastics, after the
opening of the new Jakarta office in
November last year.  Nearest to Pin
Previously SABIC and SABIC Innovative
Plastics were located in different
locations in Beijing. As of January 1,
both the offices will operate under
the same roof at the newly opened
Gemsdale Plaza, which is located in
the heart of Beijing. 
Furthermore, SABIC Asia will have a
brand new regional headquarters at
a new office at One Temasek Avenue,
Millenia Tower, Singapore, from Jan 19,
2009. This move signifies SABIC’s
expansion at its regional HQ in Asia as
the old office could not accommodate
10 SABIC January/February 2009
held and chaired by Long Yongtu,
Secretary General of the Boao Forum
for Asia (BFA). The theme of this year’s
event was unveiled as ‘Asia: Managing
Beyond Crisis’. This topical theme will
offer participants a chance to discuss
the challenges and uncertainties that
Asia faces in light of the world
financial crisis.
Over the three days of the 2009
Annual Forum, delegates are expected
to debate and discuss the impact of the
current credit crisis on Asia and how the
region can weather these
challenges as effectively as possible.
Long said: “As 2008 was a turbulent
year, the conference will provide a
platform for thought-provoking discussion.”
He added: “What’s encouraging for
this year is that there will be new
companies participating in the array
of top sponsors for the Boao Forum,
among them SABIC and iron ore
Morris Qian, Manager Northern China (first row, far left) and Lisa Tang, GM SABIC IP Northern
Region China (far right, standing) welcome employees to SABIC’s new office in Beijing with a
traditional “Happy New Year” greeting
the increased number of staff.
Overseeing 11 offices there are now
100 SABIC staff in Singapore. Unlike
Beijing and Jakarta, SABIC and SABIC
Innovative Plastics will not co-locate
manufacturer, FMG Australia. Their
participation will further showcase good
representation of world-famous enter-
prises from various industries, and from
different regions. This will definitely
boost the development of the Boao
Annual Forum.”
Ahmed Al-Umar, General Manager,
SABIC Asia Pacific, said: “SABIC has
been doing business in China for the
past 20 years. China is a key overseas
market for SABIC and is of strategic
importance to our company.
“I am pleased to say that being a
Diamond Sponsor will give SABIC
a great platform -- to increase our
corporate profile in China – as well
as at this Forum.”
He also said that SABIC’s business
links with China will continue to grow
stronger and the Boao Forum will
provide SABIC with many opportunities
in China.
in Singapore. SABIC Innovative Plastics will
remain based at the compounding facility
in the industrial area of the city, and SABIC
HQ will have its new office in the commercial
district, in the heart of the city.
SABIC Shanghai Golf Tournament
The 2008 SABIC Golf Tournament was held at
Lake Malaren Golf Club, one hour away from the
city center of Shanghai on November 26, 2008
The sporting event was held to show
appreciation to SABIC’s valued
customers, and to enhance communication
and relationships with them.
Golf was first chosen for this event as
the sport is based on learning from
others and respecting other players,
which represents how SABIC deals with
its customers, who have helped SABIC
grow in China since 1986.
More than 30 polymer customers
attended the event. In the evening, the
winners of the golf tournament were
awarded their prizes by General Manager,
SABIC Asia Pacific, Ahmed Al-Umar.
Al-Umar congratulated all the winners
and also thanked the customers for
taking time off their busy schedules to
attend the day-long event. In his speech,
Al-Umar also updated the customers on
SABIC’s growing presence in China in
terms of joint venture projects,
increased resources, technical support
and warehousing capacities.
Paul Hong, Regional Manager Polymers
said: “We received positive feedback
from our customers on this successful
event. They valued the warm reception
More than 30 polymer customers of SABIC Asia Pacific attended the event
and hospitality that each of us extended
to them. All of us in the polymers team
look forward to enhancing our service
level to customers with closer
rapport and understanding of their
business needs.”
S
Winners List
Gross Score - Championship
Lan Chun Hong, Vice General Manager,
Runhua Rural Water Resources Industrial
Development Corp.
Gross Score - Runner-up
Nature Yang, Managing Director,
National Bridge Industrial (Holdings) Ltd
Gross Score -Third Place
Wang Kai Hong, Vice General Manager,
Zhejiang Grand Imp. & Exp. Co.
Net Score - Championship
Morris Qian, Branch Manager, SABIC
(Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd. Beijing Branch
Net Score - Runner-up
Zhang Chao Hui, Manager, Zhejiang
Grand Imp. & Exp. Co.
Net Score -Third Place
Paul Hong Regional Manager,
Polymers,SABIC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
Longest Distance Drive
Xia Zhen, Manager, Runhua Rural Water
Resources Industrial Development Corp.
Longest Distance Drive
Wang Kai Hong, Vice General Manager,
Zhejiang Grand Imp. & Exp. Co.
Nearest to Pin
Steven Chan, Sales & Marketing Director,
Color Asia, Polyone Shanghai, China
Howard Yao, Chemicals Dept. General
Manager, Sinochem International Co, Ltd.
Champion: Lan Chun Hong
SABIC January/February 2009 11
INNOVATION NEWS
PP portfolio boost for SABIC Europe
SABIC has completed its broad
polypropylene (PP) portfolio for
extrusion blow molding with a new
random PP copolymer grade: SABIC
PP 680K.
This new grade is particularly suited
for applications which demand
outstanding transparency, high
temperature resistance and a good
stiffness and impact balance.
The properties of SABIC PP 680K
perfectly serve applications within food
packaging as well as bottle applications
within personal care and household
chemicals such as detergents.
Due to its property profile SABIC PP
680K is able to combine these
different requirements into one single
grade solution.
SABIC offers already a very well
established and broad polyolefin
To contribute to air quality and enable
recyclability, the Expression 2010
program gives customers new and
trendy possibilities to create
beautiful and functional applications
using molded-in colors and effects
instead of paint.
Today’s product designs include an
increasing focus on environmental
responsibility, together with
aesthetics, form and function. For its
newest and most exciting Expression
12 SABIC January/February 2009
extrusion blow molding portfolio for
the European packaging market.
Tjerk Lenstra, PP Technical Marketing
Engineer SABIC Europe, explained:
“This PP blow molding grade also
closes the gap between the renowned
SABIC PP Vestolen P 9421 grades for
extrusion pipe applications and its high
flow injection molding grade SABIC
PP RA12MN40. In the same line, SABIC
launched its SABIC PP 670Kh for caps
and closures and houseware earlier
this year.”
The introduction of this new grade
shows SABIC’s commitment to the
random-copolymer market and its
customers. “Even in this economic
difficult period, we work continuously
to support our customers in meeting
their demanding challenges.
SABIC PP 680K is widely used for food packaging
“Our ultimate goal is to further and bottle applications
Consider the future
- create without paint
palette of colors, textures and effects
for plastics, SABIC Innovative Plastics
has chosen the theme, ‘Consider the
future – create without paint’.
Entering its third season, this highly
successful program features several
new ideas such as laser marking to
create applications that are more easily
recycled, offer new functionality and,
as usual, dazzle with awesome aesthetics.
Yvette Bogaert, Manager of SABIC
Innovative Plastics’ European Color
strengthen SABIC’s position as a
reliable, competitive and cost
effective supplier in a wide range of
market segments: the ‘one-stop-shop’
for the polymer supply chain.”
said Lenstra.
Innovation Center, noted: “I’m very
proud of this year’s program because
of its many possibilities for our
customers to create recyclable
applications. It feels great to know
that we are doing our part to help the
environment by enabling applications
to go paint-free.”
The main purpose of the Expression
program is to spark creativity and
give designers and manufacturers
new options to consider. This year,
the program challenges customers to
combine color and materials to create
new forms and functionalities while
they consider the future environmental
impact of products.
A major advantage of Expression
2010’s solutions is recyclability.
For example, a discarded water bottle
becomes a colorable, laser-markable
engineering thermoplastic such as
Valox iQ resin, which can be used in
anything from an auto body panel to
a set of chopsticks.  industry in leveraging the huge poten-
Reincarnating plastic bottles
The reincarnation of discarded
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic
bottles into Valox iQ resin from SABIC
Innovative Plastics epitomizes
‘Cradle-to-Cradle’ design, an
innovative paradigm from the
internationally renowned sustainable
design firm, McDonough Braungart
Design Chemistry (MBDC).
This approach, which replaces the less
environmentally compatible
‘Cradle-to-Grave’ model, aims to
eliminate waste entirely by circulating
safe and healthful materials within
closed-loop systems of continuous reuse.
In recognition of Valox iQ 8280SF
resin’s important contribution to
sustainability and the reduction of
landfill waste, MBDC has announced
that the resin is Cradle to Cradle
CertifiedCM at the Silver tier.
The Cradle to Cradle Certification
program was created by MBDC and is
implemented worldwide, through
partners such as the Environmental
Protection and Encouragement Agency
Stopping a dripping tap with innovation
SABIC Innovative Plastics’ portfolio of
advanced specialty materials,
combined with the scientific expertise
of its Fluid Engineering Center of
Excellence in Bergen op Zoom, The
Netherlands, can now offer customers
new choices in water valves that can
ensure a high level of efficiency,
durability and performance.
Because of their exposure to static
or fluctuating pressure, high
temperatures and various chemicals,
water valves have traditionally been
made from metals such as brass.
However, today’s engineering
thermoplastics can replace metal,
delivering not only high performance
but also the benefit of enhanced
design freedom.
“SABIC Innovative Plastics has led the
S
(EPEA) in Germany. “There are so many
eco claims for today’s products and
materials that it’s easy to become
skeptical,” said William McDonough,
co-founder, MBDC.
“Cradle to Cradle Certification
provides a means to tangibly and
credibly measure achievement in
environmentally intelligent design.
Silver Certification winner Valox iQ
resin demonstrates SABIC Innovative
Plastics’ dedication to practical yet
novel materials that can help improve
environmental impacts moving forward.”
With a carbon footprint 50% to 85%
lower than other engineered
thermoplastics, Valox iQ resin is made
with polybutylene terephthalate to 65% post-consumer plastic waste,
(PBT)-based polymers using a extending the useful life of a
proprietary process. The material polyethylene terephthalate bottle to
consumes less energy and yields less 20 years. Applications for Valox iQ resin
carbon dioxide CO2 than traditional include furniture, computers and
resins through its entire manufacturing consumer electronics, transportation
process from cradle (discarded PET
bottle) to gate (Valox iQ resin pellet).
Valox iQ resin is created using up
and automotive components like
connectors, mud guards, lighting
bezels and more.
tial of engineering thermoplastics for
fluid handling,” said Frank Heessels,
leader for the Fluid Engineering Center
of Excellence.
“To be certain that a resin can
withstand the demanding
environments that water valves are technologies, we can assure
subjected to, long-term performance customers that these materials will
data is needed. Therefore, we made a meet their toughest requirements.”
major investment in the Fluid Compared to metal, which requires
Engineering Center to ensure that our the mechanical assembly of multiple
materials will deliver high performance parts, thermoplastics allow multiple
over long life spans. Using our components and functions to be
sophisticated testing and measurement integrated into a single part.
SABIC January/February 2009 2008 13
INNOVATION NEWS
Polyolefins portfolio expanded with Ultra
High Molecular Weight Polyethylene
SABIC Europe has added an Ultra High
Molecular Weight Polyethylene
(UHMWPE) range to its extended
polyolefins product portfolio.
The launch of SABIC UHMWPE
comprises the pre-marketing and sales
of four new grades as from January 2009.
SABIC is constantly focusing on
innovation and customer needs.
Expanding the current polyethylene
portfolio with a high level UHMWPE
range is an example of this.
“One of our goals is to increase our
market share by expanding our
material portfolio, particular in
sectors with high added value that
show growth potential,” explained
Smart PE-PP combinations offer new benefits
SABIC Europe’s Linear Low Density
Polyethylene/Low Density Polyethylene
(LLDPE/LDPE) business unit introduces
an innovative approach within
manufacturing of flexible packaging
by making efficient use of its broad
polyolefin’s product portfolio.
Smart combinations of different
SABIC polyethylene and polypropylene
resins can offer more sustainable
solutions for any flexible packaging
that go beyond the current borders
of cost efficiency, down gauging and
performance.
Alberto Ronzani, Technical Marketing
Engineer SABIC Europe, explained:
“We believe that future innovation
within flexible packaging will be
mainly realized by solutions based on
the right combination of the existing
resins, rather than by new, single,
enhanced resins.”
An example of this is the multi-layers
film concepts with up to five layers.
With down gauging options that run
up to 20% thickness reduction, a smart
resin combination is not only reducing
the manufacturing costs significantly,
14 SABIC January/February 2009
Peter Tackx, Business Development
Manager SABIC UHMWPE.
“A market analysis showed that this is
spot on for UHMWPE, an extraordinary
polyethylene that finds its way in a
variety of new and fast growing
applications that solve problems
related to friction, wear and corrosion.”
Due to high impact strength and
extremely abrasive resistance SABIC
UHMWPE is the perfect material for
many applications: bearings, guide
rails and conveying systems in
packaging and bottling plants, seals,
valves, pumps, filter plates, linings for
rail wagons and trucks, cutting and
chopping boards.
Flexible packaging at work in the food packing industry
but is also revealing new possibilities
concerning performance and
sustainability. The multi-layers film
concepts up to five layers are
developed for a various range of
flexible packaging. SABIC applied
these concepts successfully to diaper
compression, stand up pouches and
lamination film.
Ronzani presented recently this
whole new approach including several
challenging examples at the AMI
Winning truck design for
SABIC Innovative Plastics
When Ford Motor Company was
designing the direct metallized rear
bezel for its award-winning Ford F-150,
the company, together with Automotive
Components Holding, selected SABIC
Innovative Plastics’ Valox V2000DM
PBT resin.
The result was a stylish, metallic-
looking rear lamp bezel, which helped
the truck win the coveted 2009 North
American Truck of the Year award.
Contemporary automotive design
has seen the growing importance of
the lamp bezel as a key styling feature.
Whether the demand is for metallic,
textured or body-color, SABIC
Innovative Plastics’ broad portfolio
UHMWPE is the perfect material for bearings
of special effects resins offers an
expanding selection of materials
to help designs stand out from the
competition. Direct metallization of
molded plastic parts are a widely used
process for creating stunning
lightweight lighting bezels.
“SABIC Innovative Plastics has a long
history of working with the world’s
first automakers to replace glass with
Multi-layer Packaging Films 2008
event in Cologne from November
25-26, 2008. This innovative approach
within flexible packaging demonstrates
SABIC’s continued commitment to its
customers. “We at SABIC work actively
to support our customers in developing
cost efficient and sustainable solutions
for any flexible packaging applications,”
said Rolf Scherrenberg, Technical
Marketing Manager LLDPE/LDPE
SABIC Europe.
A shining example, the Ford F-150 in all its glory
S
todays unique and exciting new
thermoplastic lens designs,” said
Jim Wilson, Marketing Director,
SABIC Innovative Plastics.
“Today, achieving brilliantly
shiny, reflective bezels for
automotive lighting is critical
for driving efficiency and
style. Ford set the bar very
high for the F-150 rear
bezel, and our Valox
V2000DM resin rose to
the challenge.”
This resin does an
excellent job replicating
a highly polished tool
surface and delivers
parts with an exceptional
mirror-like shine after
metallization.
The metallic-looking
Wilson added: “SABIC Innovative rear lamp bezel
Plastics takes pride in working
side-by-side with customers like Ford
and Automotive Components Holdings
to help them achieve success.”
An important environmental benefit
of the direct metallization process is the ability to recycle scrap, short shots
and other waste plastic from the
molding process. Because Valox
V2000DM resin provides such a
high-quality surface finish, it does not
require painting or coating to improve
aesthetics prior to metallization.
Therefore, scrap can be reground and
reused instead of being land filled.
The Valox resin also helped the 2009
Ford F-150 improve its fuel economy
by an average of 8% across the entire
lineup, thanks to a wide range of
engineering enhancements.
The use of plastics to replace
traditional materials can provide
significant weight-out without
sacrificing performance.
In addition to being honored as the
North American Truck of the Year, the
new F-150 has been named 2009
Motor Trend Truck of the Year and
Best Overall Half-Ton Pickup by
PickupTrucks.com among many
other accolades.
SABIC January/February 2009 15
SUCCESS STORY
New SABIC resin lightens the
automotive load
16 SABIC January/February 2009
The innovative Noryl GTX resin has allowed both
Ford and Renault to slash the weight of their
new model vehicles enhancing fuel efficiency
and reducing environmental impact
In order to help automotive original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
meet key environmental challenges
such as fuel economy and emission
targets, high-performance Noryl GTX
resin from SABIC Innovative Plastics
are gaining ground, with both Ford
and Renault opting for the material
for new vehicle designs.
Having trialled the material on a
concept vehicle, Ford will deploy Noryl
GTX resin into series production of the
all-new Ford Kuga.
The Kuga marks Ford’s entry into
the crossover segment. It will be the
first Ford-branded vehicle on the road
with plastic fenders moulded from
SABIC Innovative Plastics’ lightweight,
impact-resistant, and recyclable Noryl
GTX resin. The Kuga also features the
automaker’s first production energy
absorber for pedestrian protection,
moulded of tough, lightweight, Xenoy
resin, also developed by SABIC.
The weight reduction and design
freedom benefits from using high-
performance Noryl GTX resin in
automotive fenders and other body
panels have been proven in more
than 12 million vehicles worldwide.
Building on its many years of success
using this SABIC Innovative Plastics
S
resin, French automaker Renault has
extended the technology to two of its
newest models. The 2007 Twingo and
2008 Kangoo are the latest Renault
vehicles to feature lightweight,
durable and strong Noryl GTX resin for
the fenders as an alternative to steel.
This high-performance technology
has enabled Renault to keep the
fender weight down by as much as
approximately 50 percent compared
to steel, while delivering better
low-speed impact durability than
the metal. “With increasing pres-
sures on our automotive customers
to reduce weight wherever possible,
SABIC January/February 2009 17
SUCCESS STORY S

the use of lightweight thermoplastic “With increasing pressures on our automotive

materials as an alternative to steel for
fenders has gone mainstream,” said
customers to reduce weight wherever possible,
Derek Buckmaster, market director for the use of lightweight thermoplastic materials
Automotive Body Panels and Glazing,
SABIC Innovative Plastics.
as an alternative to steel for fenders has gone
“Thanks to more than 10 years of mainstream”
positive results with the technology
and the increasing importance of
component weight savings, Renault These high-tech materials helped
now uses Noryl GTX resin on the Ford trim down the weight of the Kuga
majority of its car models. We’ve by 2.0 kg compared to steel, which
worked side-by-side with Renault as will boost fuel economy and reduce
long-term partners to help them meet emissions.
changing market demands and While manufacturing the front
regulatory requirements with new fenders from Noryl GTX resin cut the
and innovative advanced material Kuga’s weight, the resin also enabled
solutions.” greater design freedom, allowing
Ford to create a stunning new vehicle
noted for its muscular presence and
athletic styling.
The Kuga featuring the first energy absorber for pedestrian protection “Our investment in lightweight
solutions such as Noryl GTX resins
gives the auto industry new material
choices to help reduce environmental These Renault Twingo’s use the Noryl GTX 979 resin for weight saving
impacts while delivering outstanding
performance,” said Buckmaster. Renault to increase part integration Noryl GTX blends polyamide (PA) and
“And our Xenoy resins are for system cost savings and incorporate modified polyphenylene ether (PPE)
continuing to win new customers, style elements for competitive polymer technologies, combining
both for concept cars and series differentiation. the dimensional stability, low-water
production vehicles, thanks to their In day-to-day use, fenders moulded absorption, and heat resistance of
demonstrated value to designers and from Noryl GTX resin typically resist PPE with the chemical resistance and
tier-1 suppliers. SABIC Innovative minor dents and damage better than flow of PA. The result is an extremely
Plastics’ pioneering technologies can steel fenders. They are also typically chemically resistant material with
help solve today’s automotive resistant to corrosion and may be the stiffness, impact resistance, and
challenges of weight reduction, recycled at the end of the vehicle’s life. heat performance required for on-line
regulatory compliance, and design Noryl GTX resin is also conductive, painting. The Kuga also makes use of
without sacrifices.” allowing high paint-transfer efficiency SABIC® STAMAX long-glass-fiber-
The Noryl GTX resin was selected during the painting process and reinforced polypropylene product in
to replace steel in the Ford Kuga for avoiding the added cost of pre-painting its tailgate inner structure.
a number of reasons. First, the resin with a conductive primer. Further, the Noryl GTX resins have been selected
can withstand the high temperatures use of thermoplastics significantly for use by more than 10 different
required during the painting process, expands design options vs. stamped OEMs around the world.
enabling Ford to utilise its normal sheet metal.
on-line body painting process with-
out special handling, and ensuring a
perfect colour match with the rest of
the car’s body.
The SABIC Innovative Plastics’ resins
can be painted or powder-coated
simultaneously alongside the body
without the need for a primer step.
Renault selected Noryl GTX 979 resin
for its two latest vehicles, resulting
in weight savings of 1.5 kg for the
Twingo and 1.7 kg for the Kangoo. In
addition, the versatile resin allowed
The light weight sporty Renault Twingo

18 SABIC January/February 2009 SABIC January/February 2009 19

YEAR IN REVIEW
Year of consolidation
Throughout 2008 SABIC made significant investments in growing its
global business and developing its management structure, which will
help the company face the current global crisis, and be much stronger
in the post-recession year
Uncertainty and mounting speculation
over a global recession ruled the world
in the second half of 2008. Loss of
confidence in the financial systems
and markets, starting with the US and
Europe and then Asia including the
Middle East, led to many companies
scaling back investments, workflows
and even their workforce. It was quite
clear as the year progressed that the
petrochemical industry would also be
hit hard.
As a key player in the global
petrochemical market, SABIC is not
immune to any worldwide recession.
SABIC has been through industry
downturns before, and knows that it
is a question of how best and how
efficiently one can survive the cycle
and manage the decline.
Every time there has been an
industry downturn, the company has
emerged stronger, precisely because
it could reap the benefits of prudent
investments when the tide turned again.
Strong beginning
SABIC began 2008 on an upbeat note
with a 33% increase in operating profit
for 2007 to SR 27 billion ($7.2bn),
compared to SR 20.3 billion ($5.4bn)
in 2006.
20 SABIC January/February 2009
Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, SABIC Chairman, and Su Shulin, Sinopec
Chairman, greet each other after signing of the Heads of Agreement
Having concluded the acquisition of
GE Plastics, and transforming the
business into SABIC Innovative Plastics,
the company was once again looking
to expand its global portfolio, this
time looking East. In February, SABIC
signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA)
with the China Petroleum and
Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) to
form a 50-50 joint venture company
that would invest in a 1 million ton
per year of ethylene derivatives
complex (600,000 metric tons of
polyethylene and 400,000 metric
tons of ethylene glycol) to be set up
in Tianjin.
China will account for 25 percent of
global chemical demand by 2015, and
SABIC plans to expand its Chinese
operations further to tap that demand.
Shortly after the Sinopec deal,
Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC’s Vice
Sales office opens in Athens, Greece
Chairman and CEO, was named the
most influential person in the global
chemicals industry by the chemical
intelligence service ICIS.
Investing in Europe
In Europe, the company made
significant strides towards its
environmental commitments,
highlighted by the progress made in
becoming part of the REACH
(Registration, Evaluation and
Authorization of Chemicals) program.
SABIC Europe signed a contract with
TNO, which will be valid till the end of
2010, to provide scientific and
technical support concerning the
registration of approximately 80 of
its chemical substances under REACH.
The work of TNO will allow SABIC to
provide high quality dossiers to ECHA
(European Chemicals Agency).
SABIC Europe was also able to further
expand its European sales office
network with the establishment of a
sales office in Athens, Greece. SABIC
Greece became fully operational as of
January 1, 2008. “After the opening
of SABIC Hungary in 2006, the
establishment of SABIC Greece is the
next logical phase of SABIC’s
long-term growth strategy for
Central and South-Eastern Europe,
where growth in polyolefins in the
coming years is predicted to be above
average, thus allowing us to position
SABIC strongly in the local market
and to build direct relationships with
customers in the region.
Boosting production
Throughout 2008 SABIC made several
key investments in expanding its
production facilities. In March, it
signed a $300 million contract with
South Korea’s Samsung Engineering to
build two petrochemical plants in the
Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, for
the company’s affiliate, SAUDI KAYAN.
In Cobourg, Canada, SABIC
Innovative Plastics opened a Center for
Manufacturing Innovation (CMI) -
a state-of-the-art research laboratory.
The CMI took two years to complete
and cost over $1 million.
In July, the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud launched 29 industrial and
development projects worth more
than SR68 billion ($18.16 bn) in Jubail,
including a series of SABIC
manufacturing projects. They
included expansion projects at
National Industrial Gas Company
(SR1.31 billion), Saudi Methanol
Company (SR3.5 billion), Saudi Iron &
Steel Co. (SR3.77 billion), Jubail United
Petrochemical Company’s Linear
Alpha Olefins plant (SR1.2 billion), and
National Gas Company’s expansion
SAUDI KAYAN awards $300m contract to Samsung Engineering
S
project (SR1.28 billion).
Not only did SABIC concentrate on
expanding its production, but also on
maximizing its marketing potential.
To this end, Sino Saudi Aramco
Company, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Saudi Aramco, signed a mutual
cooperation agreement with SABIC
Shenzhen Trading Company, a SABIC
subsidiary in China. Under the
agreement, SABIC Shenzhen will
market Saudi Aramco Sino’s 25%
share of polyolefin products,
produced by the Fujian Refining
and Petrochemicals Company
Integration program
By the mid year SABIC had three
distinct entities making up its global
business: the SABIC headquarters,
SABIC Europe, and SABIC Innovative
Plastics. A global integration program
was launched to ensure that they
grew in the same direction. “This is
one of the most important initiatives
the company has taken,” said
Al-Mady, referring to the SABIC
Integration Program. “Our integration
work is essential for us to reach our
2020 vision.
“As we look across our businesses
in the three entities of SABIC, namely
SABIC HQ, SABIC Europe, and SABIC
Innovative Plastics, we see
tremendous opportunities to
complement and learn from each
other. We firmly believe that all
together, we are stronger than
taken separately.”
SABIC January/February 2009 21
YEAR IN REVIEW S

“As we look across our a new Corporate Management

businesses in the three Structure, at a meeting held on
October 20, 2008.
entities of SABIC, namely The new structure, which includes
SABIC HQ, SABIC high executive positions, came into
force on December 1, 2008.
Europe, and SABIC Al-Mady said that he hopes the new
Innovative Plastics, structure would help the company
in facing global challenges and
we see tremendous achieving its ambitious vision - to
opportunities to be the preferred world leader in
complement and learn chemicals.
Al-Mady added that although the
from each other” previous structure, with its strategic
business units, was entirely
appropriate to its current stage of
development, making SABIC one
of the top five global petrochemical SABIC and Exxon Mobil Chemical sign an HOA for a new Elastomers project in Saudi Arabia
companies. The new structure is
consistent with the requirements of
Sino Saudi Aramco Company signs an agreement with SABIC Shenzhen Trading Company the next phase of SABIC’s growth.
The last quarter of 2008 saw SABIC
enter another significant partnership,
with a Heads of Agreement (HOA)
Further enhancements being signed with ExxonMobil
The month of July also brought further Chemical to build a new elastomers
enhancements to SABIC’s production project at their petrochemical joint
portfolio, with the Arabian Industrial venture sites, Yanbu and Jubail,
Fibers company (IBN RUSHD), an Saudi Arabia.
affiliate of SABIC, selecting Lyondell
Basell Industries’ Spheripol process
technology for a new 525,000 tons/ “New structure would
year polypropylene (PP) plant in help the company in
Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
In Europe, SABIC announced plans facing global challenges
to build a new compounding plant in and achieving its
Genk, Belgium. The plant will also be
the home of SABIC’s Compounding
ambitious vision”
SABIC Innovation Plastics receives ENERGY GLOBE Award
Innovation Center (CIC) with three The Wilton olefins cracker received the green light for Project Lift-Off in July
pilot lines designed to speed the
development cycle for new products One of the last strategic moves of
and processes thus improving our 2008 was to expand SABIC’s
responsiveness and flexibility. As the pioneering total reliability program
business develops, SABIC plans to add to SABIC Europe and SABIC Innovative
CICs in other regions of the world. Plastics. The program brings all
Also in Europe in July, the SABIC practices and knowledge, related to
Europe Managing Board gave the plant reliability, together under one
green light to Project ‘Lift-OFF’ - which comprehensive umbrella.
will debottleneck the olefins cracker SABIC’s management strategies and
at Wilton, significantly boosting the investments have helped it strengthen
production of strategically important its global positioning and ensure that
products such as ethylene and propylene. its operations are as efficient, cost
effective and successfully managed as
possible. SABIC is confident that the
New management structure changes it has made will cushion the
In line with the integration project, company from the toughest of
the SABIC Board of Directors approved economic times.
SABIC Integration Program was a key theme of Al-Mady’s addresses during the year
SABIC HQ, SABIC Europe and SABIC Innovative Plastics meet to discuss STRP4

22 SABIC January/February 2009 SABIC January/February 2009 23

INTERVIEW
Al-Mady emphasizes strategic
acquisitions and partnerships
With the SABIC 2020 growth plan firmly in motion, Al-Mady talks
about the challenges and opportunities ahead in the global
petrochemical industry
In a recent interview with CHEManager
Europe, a leading newspaper for the
European chemicals and life sciences
industry, Mohamed Al-Mady, Vice
Chairman and CEO of SABIC, spoke
about the progress the company is
making in shaping its future in the
globalized world.
Asked about the key topics on the
company’s growth agenda, Al-Mady
said: “SABIC is currently engaged in a
strategic project called SABIC 2020,
defining the path of the company’s
ambitious growth in the coming years.
“Our SABIC 2020 vision is to be the
preferred world leader in chemicals. In
order to achieve this, apart from our
organic expansion plans, we have made
acquisitions and formed now joint
ventures.”
“Our SABIC 2020 vision is to be the
preferred world leader in chemicals.
In order to achieve this, apart from our
organic expansion plans, we have made
acquisitions and formed new joint ventures”
Al-Mady went on to outline those
acquisitions: “SABIC’s first major
expansion into manufacturing outside
the Middle East was in 2002 when
it acquired DSM Petrochemicals in
the Netherlands. Now named SABIC
Europe, the acquisition established a
strong base for the company’s
expanded operations in Europe.
“This was strengthened further in
2006, when we completed the
purchase of Huntsman’s UK Base
Chemicals and Polymers business.
“The latest and most significant
24 SABIC January/February 2009
acquisition was in 2007, with the
purchase of GE Plastics and the
subsequent formation of SABIC
Innovative Plastics. We are also
continuously looking for opportunities
to grow globally.”
Al-Mady stated that all of the
acquisitions to date were initiated to
help SABIC build its competitiveness
and to realize its strategy. “We are
continuously looking for acquisitions
which will bring in technology,
product, market, and synergic
advantages for our growth,” he added.
The company’s current expansion
plans include the Yanbu National
Petrochemical Company (YANSAB)
complex in Yanbu, the Saudi Kayan
Petrochemical Company (SAUDI KAYAN)
complex in Jubail, the SHARQ
expansion project, Jubail, and Ihe IBN
ZAHR expansion project. Jubail.
In addition to the Gulf there are two
projects underway in Germany and the
UK for polymer production.
SABIC is building a 200 million euros
[SR977.6m/US$260.7m] HdPE plant at
its site in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and
a LdPE plant at Wilton, Teesside in the
UK. The new 250,000 ton/year HdPE
S
stable, and have contributed
significantly to the growth of our
company and our partners. We are
open to partner with global chemical
majors who will be able to contribute
significantly to the partnership.”
Another key component of growth is
access to cheap and abundant
feedstock supplies, but this Middle
Eastern advantage is eroding,
according to Al-Mady. He added:
“While feedstock is the key to the
competitiveness of the petrochemical
industry globally, the days of easy
access to cheap feedstock are ending,
even in the Middle East. The future
growth will depend on the industry’s
ability to innovate and use alternative
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company (SAUDI KAYAN) complex in Jubail
feedstock.
“Innovation is also a key to SABIC’s
plant is about to come on stream and “While feedstock is the competitiveness in the future. Our
will replace the current 100,000 ton/ key competitiveness of research efforts are focused on
year unit. The new 400 ton/year LdPE developing and applying innovative
plant in the UK will come on stream the petrochemical technologies to sustain our competitive
this spring. With an investment of industry globally, the advantage, which includes the use of
about 250 million euros, the LdPE days of easy access to alternative feedstocks.”
project will be the largest one of its Al-Mady argues that the major
kind in the world when completed. cheap feedstock are challenges for growth in the region
Al-Mady was asked about the growing ending, even in the today are high engineering,
importance of the burgeoning market Middle East” procurement and construction costs
in China, which has become a strategic and talent availability.
market for SABIC and the prime market
for many of its products like ethylene
glycol, polymers, engineering plastics
and speciality chemicals. He replied:
“We are not only looking to China as
a market, but we are also looking to
expand our production base in that
country. Our recent agreement with
Sinopec is a step in this direction.”
SABIC has the unique advantage of
being at the center of Europe and
Asia and both regions are critical to
its growth and future expansion. Al-
Mady said that the European market
is mature while the Asian markets are
expanding rapidly. Though the market
characteristics are different, the key to
SABIC’s growth in both of these
markets is its product quality,
innovation and competitiveness.
A key component of SABIC’s growth
is the strategic partnerships it forms
and SABIC has had a history of joint
ventures and partnerships with global
chemical majors. Al-Mady added:
“Our partnerships have been very Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (YANSAB) complex in Yanbu
SABIC January/February 2009 25
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
China Scholarship Program
Clear communications and a thorough understanding of local
cultures around the world are the key concerns of globally focused
companies. SABIC’s China Scholarship Program shows how the
company is coming to the fore
Samir Baker Banamah, left and Wael bin Othman
SABIC is keen to continually improve
customer relations in the Asian
continent, not only because China
takes the biggest share of SABIC
exports, but also because it is
becoming an increasingly important
global customer.
This was the impetus behind the
China Scholarship Program, which is
designed to teach Chinese language to
young qualified Saudi employees, and
to give them a deeper understanding
of Chinese culture.
Wael Bin Othman, aged 31, and Samir
Baker Banamah, aged 29, were selected
as the first recipients of the SABIC
China Scholarship Program, out of 25
26 SABIC January/February 2009
fresh graduates who joined SABIC three
years ago.
As SABIC ‘scholars’, Wael and Samir
have been living and working in
Shanghai for the past two- and-a-half
years. Over this period, they have learnt
Mandarin so well that they are now
very proficient in the language.
 Wael has gone on to be appointed
as a project engineer in SABIC’s China
Investment Team. He is primarily
responsible for managing the
company’s joint venture project with
Sinopec in Tianjin, as is Samir.
Both Wael and Samir are from Jeddah.
Together they studied Mandarin full
time for two years in Shanghai before
Thoughts on living and working
in China
What made you interested in learning
Mandarin?  How does your native culture differ
Wael: I am interested in exploring the
Chinese culture. Mandarin is difficult
to learn and I like challenges. China’s
economy is also the fastest growing in
the world and it is the biggest market
for SABIC’s products. As a Saudi
professional, the ability to speak
Mandarin will be a major advantage
in my career.
Samir and I were the first employees
in this program. After that the company
“I was very keen to learn Mandarin in China because
Mandarin is one of the most popular languages in
the world especially in Asia”
has assigned three more employees
- Hamed, Ghalib and Hussain - who
finished their studies in June 2008.
Samir: I was very keen to learn
Mandarin in China because Mandarin
is one of the most popular languages
in the world especially in Asia. Also,
it’s one of hardest languages to learn,
which presented a challenge for me.
“It has now become my third
language. I believe that my ability to
they started working with SABIC’s
China Investment Team, which is also
based in Shanghai.
Wael studied Industrial Engineering
at the King Abdulaziz University in
Jeddah, before he came to Shanghai.
He used to work as a Product
Executive in Aromatics & Olefin
marketing in Basic Chemicals at the
SABIC headquarters in Riyadh. Samir
studied Electrical Engineering at the
King Fahd University of Petroleum
and Minerals, after which he worked
as an Electrical Engineer in the
Engineering & Projects Management
Department in Al-Jubail and Yanbu,
Saudi Arabia.
speak Mandarin will add incredible
value to my personality, my career and
my life.
from the Chinese culture?
Wael: Of course, there are some
differences such as religion, life style,
food, etc. But after more than two
years, I am used to living in China.
The Chinese people are very simple,
very kind and their life is systematic.
For example they will have meals on
time, and they sleep early. I believe
these habits are very good.
I have also visited a few cities for
business and holiday such as Beijing,
Tianjin, Xian, Nanjing, Yiwu, Hangzhou,
Suzhou, Guilin, Guangzhou, Sanya
and Hong Kong.
Samir: “No doubt there are many
differences between Saudi culture
and Chinese culture. Weather, food,
transportation, religion and lifestyle
here in China are not the same as in
Saudi Arabia.
Two years ago, I was surprised by all
The difficult task of writing Mandarin
S
these differences but not any more.
Now I am used to living here and I am
considering China as my second home.
I have enjoyed my visits to many
places here in China such as Beijing,
Xi’an, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Tianjin and
Hong Kong.”
Do the local people find it surprising
that you can speak and read Manda-
rin so well? Do you speak Mandarin
with everyone you meet?
Wael: Yes, I use Mandarin all the time,
and the people I meet always ask me
how long I have been in China. I have
grown to like Mandarin very much, so I
wish to speak Mandarin with everyone,
even with my wife.
Samir: Local people are very
surprised when I speak Mandarin with
them and they always cheer me up by
saying Your Chinese is very good!.
I speak Mandarin all the time with
everyone in the office, in the
restaurants, in the taxi, at the gym
and when I go shopping.
What are your personal objectives
moving forward in your job?
Wael: I would like to accumulate work
experience in the Chinese business
environment and culture, especially in
establishing grassroots petrochemical
projects in China. I would also like to
learn more about the negotiation
process in China.
I believe such experience will add
excellent value to my life and
positively influence my career in
the future.
Samir: My objective is to gather more
experience by working in Asia and, at
the same time, to improve my
proficiency in the Chinese language. 
This is an excellent opportunity for me
to do my best in my career.
Wael and Samir are just two
examples of the many students SABIC
hopes to educate around the world
in local cultures and languages. As a
globally-focused company it is
important for SABIC to be fully
integrated in the communities it
serves and going forward, this will be
achieved by the growing success of
the company’s enterprising workforce
in every corner of the world.
SABIC January/February 2009 27
BEHIND THE SCENES
Leading effective
change
Participants at a CAP training session
The Change Acceleration Process (CAP)
is an important new process helping
leaders across global SABIC to pilot
effective change as the company
pursues its 2020 vision.
CAP is a proven, seven-step process
with 41 specific tools that teams can
use to address the important “human
elements” as they develop a change
strategy. SABIC Innovative Plastics has
used the process for many years to help
employees make the transition and
adapt to major programs such as Six
Sigma and Net Promoter Score.
28 SABIC January/February 2009
Global SABIC adopts the ‘Change
Acceleration Process’ – a best practice
to help change endure
Building on SABIC Innovative Plastics’
experience, global SABIC is now
training its leaders around the world in
the Change Acceleration Process.
In 2008 close to 300 leaders attended
CAP training, as part of the SABIC
Integration Program and other
strategic initiatives.
Mansour Al-Kharboush, Program
Executive in charge of SABIC’s world-
wide integration effort, was among the
first group of leaders to attend global
CAP training last April. He wanted to
learn the process first-hand, and to
S
Training session at SABIC headquarters in Riyadh
“CAP is a disciplined process that considers your
stakeholders’ important questions and helps you
plan to address them. It takes the negatives out of
change and helps to focus everyone on the advantages,
the value, the positives”
understand how it would be put into
action by the integration teams
working to implement new synergies
and best practices across SABIC.
Al-Kharboush said: “CAP is a
disciplined process that considers your
stakeholders’ important questions and
helps you plan to address them. It takes
the negatives out of change and helps
to focus everyone on the advantages,
the value, the positives.
“As SABIC continues to grow and as
we become a more global company,
CAP will help us to implement changes
A point being made at a session in Riyadh
SABIC January/February 2009 29
BEHIND THE SCENES S

“CAP gave us tools that we could use

together to get issues on the table, to
work through them, and to adopt new
solutions.”
Gasem Al-Maimani is the Business
Planning and Support General
Manager, SABIC HQ, and a change
leader for one of the global integration
teams. He said: “CAP really got us
started, focused and incorporating all
viewpoints. “What’s great about the
discipline is that whatever proposed
change we are working on, CAP gives us
the right tools to ensure that people are
aware of it, of why we need to do it, and
of why we are willing to do it
continuously all the way to the end.
“With integration, where we were
working on sharing best practices it
was important.
The sooner that we could agree on our
approach to best practice sharing,
the sooner we could get the benefits
of our combined global expertise,”
added Al-Maimani. Will Bleser, Manager,
Accounting, SABIC Europe, and change
“What’s great about the discipline is that whatever
proposed change we are working on, CAP gives us
the right tools to ensure that people are aware of it,
of why we need to do it, and of why we are willing
to do it continuously all the way to the end”
leader for the accounting integration CAP, pleased program leaders. “This is
team, agrees with Al-Maimani. He said: really an achievement that exceeded
“Working with several of the CAP tools our expectations,” said Geert Bonte,
and processes, we quickly came to Integration Leader for the SABIC
agreement on why it was important Integration Program. SABIC Innovative
to have a common finance language, Plastics’ Learning & Development team,
to make use of one global accounting which includes CAP as a core course
manual and to implement a best offering, will conduct the course
practice management reporting throughout the SABIC world.
framework.” SABIC employees who are leading
a project and would like to have CAP
More training training are encouraged to contact their
The sheer number of people trained in local Learning Department to participate
2008 and adopting the principles of in the course.

A group of participants gather for CAP training

more smoothly, with the support and
contributions of all our people. We are
fortunate that SABIC Innovative Plastics
has a wealth of experience to help us
apply these principles effectively. We
moved quickly to capitalize on this to
help achieve our business targets and
vision as rapidly as possible,” he added.
What’s CAP?
CAP was created by the Harvard
University for General Electric in the
1980s to help the company increase
the success and speed of change
management. In its research, Harvard
found that up to 70% of initiatives
involving substantial change fail -- not
because of their technical aspects, but
because they do not consider and en-
courage people’s acceptance of
the change.
“As SABIC continues to grow and as we become a
more global company, CAP will help us to implement
changes more smoothly, with the support and
contributions of all our people”
CAP recognizes the necessary
marriage of these elements with the
formula QxA=E, or (Quality of technical
design of the solution) x (Acceptance by
the people involved) = (Effectiveness.)
Bert Groothuis led the CAP rollout as
part of the SABIC Integration Program,
making it one of the first best practices
being shared and adopted across the
global SABIC family of companies.
“Integration is all about encouraging
and empowering people to work
together in new and different ways.
But this can be stressful,” said Groothuis. Bert Groothuis conducts a CAP session

30 SABIC January/February 2009 SABIC January/February 2009 31

COVER STORY
Methanol: The fuel of
The methanol market shows many signs of
growth in new green applications, which is
good news for SABIC, a world leader in the
production of this volatile colorless liquid
that has many varied and complex uses
Hotrod cars like this one depend on methanol to reach high speeds
32 SABIC January/February 2009
tomorrow
Enlarged 3-D view
of a methanol cell
Methanol – also known as methyl
alcohol, wood alcohol or wood spirits-
is a very volatile colorless liquid.
Methanol has the chemical formula,
CH3OH. It is a simple alcohol, but its
uses are many and complex. SABIC is a
world leader in the methanol market,
an arena which shows many signs of
growth in new green applications.
The clear liquid, methanol, smells like
sweet alcohol but is in fact extremely
toxic. Methanol was given the name,
wood alcohol or wood spirits because
it was originally produced as a by-
product of the distillation of wood.
When wood was heated without any
air to temperatures above 500
degrees Fahrenheit, what remained was
charcoal and also a volatile fraction,
which includes methanol, a highly
flammable liquid. This process was
used to produce methanol from the
early 1800s, but since the 1920s,
methanol has been produced from
synthesis gas (a mixture of hydrogen
and carbon monoxide) and is often
made alongside ammonia. This is
because the process of making synthesis
gas is similar for both products.
Methyl alcohol occurs naturally in
the atmosphere, and in the human
body in small quantities, as a result of
the consumption of fruit and
vegetables. Methanol, as opposed to
ethanol, however, is highly toxic and
even small quantities can cause
blindness or even death. Methanol is
sometimes mixed with ethanol as a
S
denaturant, to avoid the high tariffs
due on a potable alcoholic liquid. The
resulting product is sometimes known
as, “methylated spirit”. The threat of
blindness, dizziness, vomiting and
coma is usually sufficient to deter
people from drinking methylated
spirits, on which duties are not charged.
While you could not drink methanol,
you could put it in your car and drive
it- at least if you are a race car driver;
or have a monster truck or go-cart.
From 1965 to 2006, methanol was the
only fuel at the Indianapolis 500, the
annual American motor racing event.
The use of methanol as a fuel is not
very widespread but it is widely used
to make a popular gasoline blend
component: MTBE.
“Methyl alcohol occurs naturally in the atmosphere,
and in the human body in small quantities, as a
result of the consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Methanol, as opposed to ethanol, however, is highly
toxic and even small quantities can cause blindness
or even death”
The use of methanol to make MTBE
represents an important application
for this product, representing
approximately 15% of its overall use,
significantly less than in previous years,
before the US ban on the product. MTBE,
an oxygenate for boosting octane
levels in gasoline, is no longer used in
the US, but around the world, including
SABIC January/February 2009 33
COVER STORY
Methanol is heavily used for plywood sheeting for the construction industry
in Europe and elsewhere, MTBE continues
to be important as a gasoline component.
The greatest single use for methanol
is for making formaldehyde resins.
About 35% of all the methanol
produced globally goes into this
application. The end-uses here are very
far-reaching. Formaldehyde resins are
used in paints, plastics, plywood and
explosives. They are used in phenolic
and amino resins, which in turn are
used to manufacture wooden boards
for panelling, flooring and furniture.
Growth in this area has been very high,
particularly in the developing world.
Acetic acid is another big use for
methanol. Acetic acid is used to make
vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) as well
as in small quantities for purified
terepholic acid (PTA) to make polyester.
Growth rates for polyester are high in
the developing world, at several points
above GDP, although of course growth
has slowed in all areas as most world
economics have been sluggish in late
2008 and early 2009. Recently, other
34 SABIC January/February 2009
applications have also risen to the fore.
Methanol has been used to make
dimethyl ether (DME), and in biodiesel
and gasoline blending. DME, produced
by methanol dehydration, can be used
in place of diesel fuel. Some of the
major vehicle manufacturers have
made heavy vehicles, which can use DME.
Up to 20% of DME can also be
combined with LPG using the same
infrastructure, making it an attractive
alternative as a clean-burning fuel.
In China, where LPG is used extensively
as a portable cooking and heating fuel,
DME is quite popular as a partial
substitute. DME can also be used in
power generation.
Methanol is used for biofuels, although
only to a limited extent. Ethanol has
become the biofuel of choice in the US,
mainly due to subsidies, although this
too may well be subject to change in
this rapidly evolving arena. There are
also strong hopes for the future of the
methanol industry, in the development
of fuel cells from methanol (DMFCs),
S
rather than hydrogen, to run not only China, India and around the world. holding equal shares in the company.
smaller items like mobile phones SABIC produces methanol at three The plant, which started up in 1985,
and laptop batteries, but eventually, affiliate companies in the Middle East: has a methanol capacity of 420,000
automobiles as well. The importance Saudi Methanol Company (AR-RAZI); metric tons per year and the
of green issues on the US agenda since National Methanol Company (IBN SINA) company also produces fertilizers,
the inauguration of its new President and Gulf Petrochemical Industries including ammonia and urea at
Barack Hussein Obama in January 2009 Company (GPIC). this site.
could be very positive for the methanol Ar-Razi, a 50:50 joint venture with a SABIC is a major supplier of methanol
industry, and technologies like that for Japanese consortium led by Mitsubishi to the world’s markets, and is
DMFCs can be expected to receive Gas Chemical Company, is the biggest well-placed to benefit from the
more interest and more investment of these companies with five methanol development of the product as new
in the coming years. plants in the Kingdom of Saudi applications draw on existing supply.
The methanol market is a very Arabia producing almost 5 million Despite the termination of the MTBE
dynamic one, changing and growing all metric tons per year. One of the five market in the US due to political
plants produces an impressive 1.7 decisions, there is still a healthy MTBE
million tons/year, which is among the market around the world.
highest single-plant capacities in Other traditional methanol down-
the world. stream applications, such as acetic
Ibn Sina, is a 50:50 joint venture acid and formaldehyde continue to
company with a US group including be strong, particularly in the
Celanese and Duke Energy. Formed in developing world. And most exciting,
1981, the company has one plant looking ahead, new green markets with
producing 950,000 tons of chemical a high potential for products such as
President Barack Obama green agenda may grade methanol per year, as well as MTBE. DMFCs and DME may well point the
help methanol’s cause.
GPIC is a joint venture with Kuwait’s way forward to a glittering future for
PIC, the state of Bahrain and SABIC methanol.
the time, in response to new demand,
a changing environment and growing
world requirements for the products
that it is used to make.
Methanol is also used as feedstock to
“Methanol has been make acetic acid.
used to make dimethyl The technology to produce ethylene
and propylene from methanol has been
ether (DME), and in known for a long time but there is no
biodiesel and gasoline full scale plant built in operation yet.
There are currently two projects
blending. DME, produced underway in China to produce
by methanol dehydration, methanol by this route, exploiting the
can be used in place of large reserves of available carbon
feedstock to make synthesis gas.
diesel fuel” The total global demand for methanol
is around 40 million metric tons per
year. Total world capacity is about 50
million metric tons. New projects may
be slow to come up until the gap
between supply and demand has
closed. Production in regions with a
feedstock advantage, like that in the
Middle East and/or proximity to
markets, like China, are expected to run
at high rates to meet existing demand.
With a capacity of almost 6 million
metric tons per year of methanol,
SABIC is the second largest methanol
producer in the world and well placed
to meet growing global demand in
Formaldehyde resins are used in the manufacturing of paints
SABIC January/February 2009 35
SABIC CONFERENCES
ArabPlast shows region’s stren gth in polymers and plastics
SABIC takes center stage at the ninth edition in Dubai
SABIC’s Abdullelah Al Faris and Bander Alasaker welcome Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi at the SABIC stand at ArabPlast
This year’s ArabPlast exhibition
received record numbers of exhibitors
and delegates, many of which were
drawn to SABIC’s commanding
exhibition space.
This annual event, which is now in its
ninth year, is held in conjunction with
Al Fajer Info & Services and the Center
for Management and Technology (CMT).
ArabPlast is a good networking
platform for top and middle level
executives from the plastic converting,
molding, compounding, resin suppliers,
packaging, plastic pipe and additive
industries and other companies
supporting the plastic industry.
In addition to networking with vital
players, the conference provides
important insights into the current
polymer processing developments
and plastic market conditions in the
Dusit Thani Hotel in Dubai, the venue of Middle East.
the exhibition
36 SABIC January/February 2009
SABIC attended the event in force
with a team of around 20, from across
technical sales, polymer support,
performance chemicals and SABIC
Innovative Plastics – some from Riyadh
and others from Dubai, Beirut, across
the Gulf and even as far as America.
UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade,
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, who
inaugurated the event, visited the
SABIC exhibition space. She told
Abdullelah Al Faris, Branch Manager -
SABIC Dubai, that she she was
impressed by the company’s showcase,
and went on to ask about SABIC’s
expansion plans and product portfolio.
Sheikha Lubna  said investments
in polymers and petrochemicals are
increasing despite the current credit
crisis. The two exhibitions, she added,
have seen a 25% increase in the
number of exhibitors and pavilions as
against last year. “This underscores the
importance of exhibitions to
international companies to promote
their business in the Middle East,” she said.
The minister praised the high,
global manufacturing standards of the
companies. “This reflects the strength
of the two sectors and their ability to
cope with the global financial crisis,”
she said.
Bander Alasaker, Representative,
Corporate Exhibitions, Media &
External Relations, said: “SABIC had one
of the largest exhibition spaces, with
240 square meters.
“We had a lot of visitors – customers,
looking to do business, partners and
suppliers. This was a hugely successful
event for us in terms of the networking
opportunities it presented to us.”
SABIC was joined by many other
leading raw material suppliers,
including Borouge, Qatar Petrochemicals,
Exxon Mobil Chemicals, Reliance, Astra
Polymers, Clariant, National Petrochemical
Co of Iran, ENERPLASTICS, as well as
other leading machinery and processing
related companies.
As a leading trade show, ArabPlast
2009 served as a reliable barometer on
the dynamic development of plastics
and its related sectors in this region,
with over 700 companies attending
from 40 countries around the world.
The second ArabPlast Summit was
held in conjunction with the exhibition.
The summit is the Middle East’s premier
polymer & plastics networking event.
In addition to the networking
opportunities, the second ArabPlast
Summit provided important insights
into the current polymer and plastics
market conditions in the Middle East.
Satish Khanna, General Manager,
Al Fajer Information and Services,
co- organizer of the show, said:
“ArabPlast is one of the most successful
international trade fairs focused on
plastics, plastic packaging and
processing and rubber industry.
Several multi billion dollar deals have
been closed during the eight editions
of the show.
“The show has significantly increased
its lead as the region’s most important
and leading trade show for plastics and
rubber industry.”
This year national exhibitions from
Germany, Austria, UK, Italy, Iran, Egypt,
Morocco, Korea, China, Taiwan, Egypt,
USA, and India took part.
Khanna added: “Exhibitors’ optimism
over ArabPlast has grown considerably
high. This positive mood, marked by
a record number of exhibitors, new
country participations and displays of
state-of-the-technology machinery and
products, is confirmed at the region’s
leading trade fair for Plastics and
Rubber Industry.”   industry sectors.
Trade visitors at ArabPlast 2009 were
eager to explore solutions for plastic
machinery and Plastic related
equipments as well as raw materials
and thermoforming and packaging
related products.   growth of ArabPlast for years to come,
Visitors also spent time finding out
more about plastics processing
machinery, polymers and masterbatches,
The growth of arabplast
EXHIBITORS GROWTH
1996 189
1998 195
2001 204
2003 228
2005 326
2007 537
1996 1998 2001 2003 2005 2007
GLOBAL BREAKDOWN OF EXHIBITORS
Europe & North America 163
Far East 163
Middle East & North Africa 116
Indian Subcontinent 91
G C C 70
Others 13
S
molding machineries, plastic films,
wrapping technology, plastic finished
goods, household plastics, industrial
plastics, devices as well as accessories.
ArabPlast proved once again that it
is not only an information gathering
venue but also an interface to know
more about the technical specifications
for specific products and look more
thoroughly for solutions to concrete
problems facing the industry at the
manufacturing level.
Khanna concluded: “It is a confirmed
fact that over the years ArabPlast has
grown into a prestigious show for
companies seeking to gain a firm
foothold in the growing plastic,
processing, packaging and rubber
“The rich source of raw materials,
such as petrochemicals, and a demand
projection of double digit growth in
plastic and rubber sector in this region,
will significantly contribute to the
with international and regional busi-
nesses shifting their sights to industry
considering it the safest investment.”
537
326
228
204
195
198
Years
Others 4
Far East 163 Middle East &
North America 116
Europe/ India Subcontinent
91
North America 163
SABIC January/February 2009 37
 LIFESTYLE
The sand dunes of Hail resonated with the sound of motor sports in
January as the ever popular Hail Rally returned to the Nafud desert
The Toyota FJ Cruiser kicking up a storm in sand
38 SABIC January/February 2009
S
The Kingdom’s premier off-road
motor sport event attracted 30
starters, twelve of which were foreign
teams from Britain, Czech Republic,
Italy, Lebanon, Qatar, and the UAE.
Twenty-six of the original 30
starters tackled the 187.70 km final
selective section, with the UAE’s
Abdullah Al-Herais and David Mabbs,
and Saudi Arabia’s Farhan Al-Ghaleb
and Omar Al-Lahim joining the
retirement list.
Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and
French co-driver Matthieu Baumel
maintained their composure through-
out the third leg of the Saudi Hail Baja
to record a sensational wire-to-wire
victory in their Nissan Navara.
The Hail Rally was Al-Rajhi’s first ever
The Isuzu team under starters orders
appearance on a Baja-type motor sport
event, and his Belgian Overdrive
Racing team survived a pre-event section. The fact that three nationalities
engine scare to seal a straightforward filled the three podium positions
victory. Al-Rajhi had similar success in demonstrates the international appeal
last November’s inaugural Sharqia Rally of this event.
in the Eastern Province. Local front-runner Rajeh Al-Shammeri
The Dubai-based British crew of Mark had passed both Zapletal and Powell
Powell and Paul Richards finished 42m early in the day’s stage suffering
44s behind Al-Rajhi in their Honda- electrical problems, giving Sami
engine Buggy. This was a career-best Al-Shammeri the fourth overall position.
finish for the Briton on an international Last year, Qatar’s Nasser Saleh
rally. The Czech crew of Miroslav Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver
Zapletal and Tomas Ourednicek Matthieu Baumel, romped to an
secured the final podium place in their emphatic 21m 41s lead lead to
Mitsubishi Pajero and set the second record their first victory with the BMW
fastest time on the day’s selective X-raid team.
Castrol Edge buggy
SABIC January/February 2009 39
LIFESTYLE
This year the event was once
again held under the patronage of
Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsen,
Governor of Hail, President of the High
Commission for the Development of
the Hail region and the Head of the
Supreme Commission of the Hail Rally.
The race was organized by the Saudi
Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF). It
was run in the Nafud desert, near Hail,
in the north-central region of Saudi
Arabia from January 26-29.
Although, the Saudi Hail Baja entered
the FIA championship for the first time
in 2008, as the only round of the FIA
Baja series to take place outside
Europe, this year it did not count for
FIA Baja championship points.
This meant that competitors taking
part in the FIA Baja series had to wait
until the Northern Forest Rally in Russia
to kick-start their points-scoring
campaign, at the end of February.
But the fun still began in Saudi Arabia
with FIA competitors turning up
en masse.
The remaining rounds of the FIA Baja
series will be held in Italy, Spain,
Hungary and Portugal.
Mishaal Al-Sudairy, chairman of the
Riyadh-based organizing committee,
said the event would continue to
advance and improve with a view to
re-entering the FIA series in 2010.
The Hail Saudi Baja crosses some of
the most challenging terrain in the world.
The Prologue stage of the Hail Saudi
Baja was extended to around four or
five kilometers in 2009, while the
stages on legs two and three are similar
to those used in 2008, featuring a fine
balance of sand dunes, faster sandy
terrain and several technical and twisty
sections.
The event was based at the Maghwat
facility on the outskirts of Hail and the
official event timetable began with
scrutinizing and documentation on
January 26. The ceremonial start and
official Prologue took place on January
27 and the off-road competitive action
was held over two legs in the Nafud
desert on January 28 and 29.
In a bid to widen the geographical
appeal of the event, non-Saudi teams
participating in the Hail Baja were
offered US$2,500 and accommodation,
40 SABIC January/February 2009
Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsen and Abdullah bin Khalid Al Saud congratulate the winners
“Every year the Hail Baja is run, homage is paid to
Abdullah Bakhashab and Toyota for bringing
motorsports to the Kingdom”
while event officials also arranged visa
formalities, where necessary.
Regular World Rally Championship
(WRC) competitor and former FIA
Middle East rally champion Abdullah
Bakhashab, who was Race Director in
2008, returned as Rally Consultant.
His successor as Race Director was
Saudi Arabia’s Dr. Saleh Solai.
Bakhashab has been keen to see the
Kingdom on the rally map for several
years and he has now taken overall
responsibility for the route and format
of the Hail Baja.
Bakhashab took part in many regional
rallies during his illustrious career,
including the UAE Desert Challenge,
which runs through the Rub Al-Khali
every year as the traditional final round
of the FIA Cross-Country Rallies World
Cup. He has also been the key
individual behind introducing young
and up and coming Saudi rally drivers
to the sport in recent years.
Every year the Hail Baja is run,
homage is paid to Abdullah Bakhashab
and Toyota for bringing motorsports to
the Kingdom.
At the close of this year’s tournament,
Prince Abdullah bin Khalid Al Saud,
Assistant to the Chairman of the High
Commission for Hail Development and
Head of the Executive Committee of
the Rally, personally thanked SABIC and
other sponsors for their support.
Prince Al Saud was also pleased to
announce that the number of
international participants in the 2009
rally was the highest to date. Mesh’al
bin Fahad Al Sedairi, Head of Saudi
Arabia Motor Federation, said the
“Hail Rally is no lesser than the Paris
to Dakar rally, and will surpass it in the
near future”.
S
Racing in Saudi - from dream to reality
Abdul Latif Jameel Group (ALJ) Toyota
helped Bakhashab realize his dream
of organizing motor sports in Saudi
Arabia, at a time when he faced many
hurdles in securing sponsors. Last
year, Toyota celebrated 10 years of
support for the Kingdom’s motorsport.
The group returned in 2009 as the
Platinum Sponsor, for the third
consecutive year.
In 1997 Toyota sponsored Bakhashab
in the Middle East Rally Champion-
ship. In 1998 this partnership shot to Final race preparations for the Nissan
fame by jumping to the World Rally
Championship from the Mideast
Championship and the team was Abdullah Bakhashab
renamed Toyota Team Saudi Arabia
(TTSA). In 1999, Toyota entered into further collaboration with Bakhashab to
launch the Safety and Safe Driving campaign in several Saudi cities.
The safety awareness program continued to be developed and in 2000
a few fortunate attendees were even granted permission to accompany
Bakhashab as co-drivers. In the meantime, the Toyota Rally Team Saudi Arabia
got the approval of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to adopt the
Toyota Cup Championship within the Middle East.
The year 2001 saw the founding of the first official race in the Kingdom, the
Race of Champions, again with Toyota sponsorship. The year 2002 was the
last for Bakhashab as a Toyota rally driver. Instead Toyota Rally Team Saudi
Arabia (TRTSA) was formed with three Saudi drivers who went on to achieve
impressive results throughout 2003 and 2004.
In 2005 ALJ-Toyota increased its support of the Saudi youth and brought out
several new championships, organised by Bakhashab, which included the
Saudi Star Autocross race, the Desert Race Challenge and yearly IN 10 SO school
Olympics at the IN 10 SO center.
In 2006 and 2007, ALJ-Toyota also promoted the emerging International Hail
Rally with sponsorship for this major event. The Toyota Land Cruiser became
the official car of the International Hail Rally.
Now, after 10 years there are many success stories of Saudi champions in the
national and international events, but the historic and strategic alliance of
Bakhashab and Toyota that was formed in 1997 effectively marked the
beginning of the sport of auto racing in Saudi Arabia.
Al Rajhe the winner of the 2009 rally
The Mitsubushi team make light work of the desert
SABIC January/February 2009 41
SABIC COMPETITION

Correctly complete the suduko and crossword

puzzles for your chance to win Media Player/Recorder
Fax complete entries to +966 1 461 2966
(Closing date March 31st 2009)
Untitled Puzzle
Can you name the national tree from each of these countries?
Across Down
1
2. Japan 1. Jamaica
2 3
4. Malta 2. Maldives
6. Scotland 3. Nepal
9. Canada 5. Denmark
10. Italy 7. Philippines
4 13. New Zealand 8. Argentina
5
14. Bangladesh 11. Paraguay
6 7 8
15. Madagascar 12. China
17. Antigua 16. Czech Republic
9
18. Greece

10 11 12

13

14

15 16

17

18

Across Down
2. Japan [CHERRYBLOSSOM] 1. Jamaica [BLUEMAHOE]
Name:
4. Malta [G?ARG?AR] Address:
2. Maldives [COCONUTPALM]
6. Scotland [SCOTSPINE] 3. Nepal [RHODODENDRON]
Tel:9. Canada [MAPLE] 5. Denmark [BEECH]
10. taly [ELM] 7. Philippines [NARRA]
13. New Zealand [KAURI]
Mob: 8. Argentina [JACARANDA]
14. Bangladesh [BANYAN] 11. Paraguay [LAPACHO]
15.
Email: Madagascar [BAOBAB] 12. China [GINSENG]
17. Antigua [WHITEWOOD] 16. Czech Republic [LIME]
18. Greece [OLIVE]

Congratulations go to Ahmed Torabi, Iran,

who is the winner of our competition from the last issue of SABIC magazine.
The prize will reach you shortly.

42 SABIC January/February 2009 The natural splendor of sand dunes near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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