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Vinythai: Innovation and
Sustainability
By Margot Campman
B
A
SSolar Impulse
EEducation
Interview
elgian chemical group Solvay is growing, at home and abroad. Its recent merger with French Rhodia
has created a global leader in high performance specialty polymers, soda ash, hydrogen peroxide and
PVC, amongst others. The group is also geographically stronger with an Asian focus in China and
Thailand. The company makes headlines regularly with its innovative project Solar Impulse. Bruno van der
Wielen, Managing Director of Vinythai, and Khun Sompot Cheeranorawanich, Vice President Corporate Aff airs
and Communication, received Commerce Magazine to talk about Solvay’s growing business, its innovative
sustainability projects, as well as about operating Vinythai - majority owned by Solvay - in Thailand.
A top ten chemical player employing 29,000 people
worldwide, Solvay’s history started in 1863 when
Ernest Solvay founded a company to produce
soda ash using the “Solvay process”. Solvay is
also a powerful Belgian force in Thailand with 2
subsidiaries, Peroxythai (est. 1987) and Vinythai (est.
1989). Vinythai has established itself as a leading
producer of PVC resins and caustic soda for clients
all over Asia. It is also a “green” leader with its
environmental protection policy and its innovative
technologies.
The latest major investment in Thailand, and major
innovation, is Vinythai’s new epichloral hydrin
production plant in Map Ta Phut. The process was
developed by Solvay based on the transformation of
glycerine, which is a recycled renewable by-product
of the biodiesel industry. It is an ultra-lightweight
material and therefore essential for, among others,
the aerospace and wind energy sectors. It also plays
a key role in Solvay’s high-profi le Solar Impulse
project.
It all started a few years ago when Swiss inventor,
balloonist and psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard made
a presentation to the Solvay board in Belgium.
Every year Solvay organizes a competition in which
trophies are awarded to most innovative companies
belonging to the Solvay Group. At this special
occasion Bertrand Piccard shared his experience
touring around the globe in a hot air balloon (he copiloted
the fi rst balloon to circle the world non-stop).
At the end of his presentation Piccard expressed his
wish to tour around the globe in an airplane without
using any fossil fuel. Bruno van der Wielen explains
how Solvay committ ed itself to this high profi le
project by providing fi nancial and other support.
Critical tests are executed now that the prototype, as
light as a car, is up and running. Feasibility was proven
when, on 24 July 2012, the plane landed gracefully in
Payerne, Switz erland, triumphantly completing the
world’s fi rst solar-powered intercontinental fl ight.
Obviously, the plane has to be very light. Mr. Van Der
Wielen elaborates that this is the moment Vinythai
steps in with its production of epichlorohydrin. This
material of the future is one of the current innovation
pillars of Solvay in chemical process and product
development.
In addition to product and process development,
Vinythai intends to contribute to the Thai education
system with projects aimed at interesting young
school kids in science projects. Khun Sompot
Cheeranorawanich, Vice President Corporate Aff airs
and Communication explains: “It is diffi cult to get
good engineers in Thailand. This can really change
for the bett er through good education,” Khun
Sompot also highlights two other interesting projects:
the Coral project and the Telescope project.
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