Financial Statements - Solvay

natural resources and limit waste
disposal. New applications are also
being developed in nutrition, human
health and agriculture. To meet
these demands, capacity has been
increased at the Torrelavega (Spain)
plant and a new production unit is
under construction at Rosignano
(Italy), coming on line in 2009.
The new unit producing calcium
chloride pearls was successfully
brought into service at Rosignano at
the end of 2007. The initial capacity of
60 kt/year will gradually be increased
to 140 kt/year to meet growing
demand.
In Advanced Functional Minerals
the redeployment of our activities
is continuing, including certain
divestments. In this context the
Precipitated Calcium Carbonate
activity, of limited strategic interest for
the Group, has been put up for sale.
Five European sites are involved.
At the same time, the 75/25 Solvay-
CPC joint venture closed its Reynosa,
Mexico, strontium carbonate
production site.
2009 will be a diffi cult year, but we
are continuing our commercial policy
of raising our prices. In particuliar
soda ash and in “green” markets like
glass for renovating and improving
building insulation and for solar panel
supports, in which Solvay has a
signifi cant presence, should remain
growth segments. Applications
involving sodium bicarbonate should
continue to grow, in particular in the
environmental fi eld.
The Electrochemistry
and Fluorinated Products
cluster
Demand for Caustic Soda was
stable, with sales remaining buoyant
until the end of the third quarter of
2008. Lower fourth-quarter sales
refl ect the fall in production of chlorine
and its co-product, caustic soda,
due in particular to falling demand for
PVC from the building construction
industry. Rising energy prices had
a very signifi cant impact on the
operating costs of our electrolysis
units. Finally, 2008 saw a very sharp
rise in caustic soda prices, by over
50% in the second half in Europe
and Mercosur, refl ecting both a tight
supply situation and sharp increases
in the cost of electrical energy.
In 2008 we brought online our
membrane electrolysis unit at Bussi
(Italy). This refl ects our strategic
choice of gradually replacing our
mercury electrolysis units with
membrane ones and of supporting
this sustainable process which saves
water and energy and produces fewer
by-products. At the end of 2008 it
was also decided to convert part of
the electrolysis facility at Tavaux from
mercury to membrane technology.
Again with the objective of sustainable,
profi table growth, Solvay
participates in Exeltium, an industrial
consortium of major electricity
consumers in France, to ensure
stable energy supplies at more
competitive prices.
In Allyls, demand for epichlorohydrin
dropped sharply at the end of the
year and market conditions have
become very diffi cult. In the long
term, we remain confi dent that
demand will pick up, linked to growth
in epoxy resins, which in particular
are gradually replacing steel in the
automotive and aviation industries,
and which are a major component
in most fi bre-based composite
structures. All these applications
mean weight reductions and energy
savings.
Epichlorohydrin production using the
EPICEROL ® process has become one
of the Group’s fl agship processes.
The use of natural glycerine, a
co-product of the production of
biodiesel, as a raw material and the
major reduction in by-products and
waste are concrete expression of our
desire to reduce our industrial impact
on the environment.
Chemicals Sector
33
Solvay Global Annual Report 2008
Chemicals Sector