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In the post-epidemic era, where is the growth driver of polyurethane companies? How to take the road of sustainable development? Faced with the common concerns of these industries, at the International Forum on Polyurethane Frontier Technology held in Shanghai on June 16, Huntsman Polyurethanes Pan Lumin, president of the Asia-Pacific region, said that in the post-epidemic era, the downstream polyurethane market can be described as a crisis. Huntsman will follow the changing market trends, insist on sustainable development strategies to innovate application areas, and further realize market value.

　　Grasp new opportunities in market segments

　　Pan Lumin introduced that this new global epidemic outbreak has brought challenges to many countries in the world, including China, and inevitably affected the downstream polyurethane industry. As the epidemic situation stabilizes, the subsequent polyurethane downstream market segment will be more clearly differentiated. In general, it can be divided into 3 categories.

　　 The first category is the industry expected to accelerate growth, mainly the domestic demand market related to the protection of people's livelihood. "In the future, market changes in this area may tend to be short and fast, such as masks in February, goggles in March, melt-blown cloth in April, helmets in May, and stalls in June. However, we believe that companies still need to master The long-term trend of the market is mainly concentrated in food safety, energy security, public health, etc. It is believed that China will increase industrial support in these areas, and the market trend will be more optimistic." Pan Lumin said. The second category is industries where investment may generally stabilize, such as real estate and infrastructure construction, which may be affected during the epidemic, but can recover after the epidemic has ended. The third category is industries where growth may slow down overall, mainly in areas involving global trade, such as household products, shoe materials and clothing. If the market relies heavily on foreign trade, it may be affected for a long time.

　　 The more differentiated the market, the more strategically important the company's strategic layout and choices become. In Pan Lumin's view, polyurethane companies including Huntsman should seize three main lines this year, which are to tap new economic growth momentum, strengthen ecological environmental protection and sustainable development, and prevent the risk of epidemic impact.

　　 With China's emphasis on food security and food safety, the demand for modern agricultural facilities has increased, which will boost the polyurethane material market. Pan Lumin said that because of the epidemic of African swine fever last year, the pig industry has paid more attention to modernization. The aquaculture industry has requirements for thermal insulation, and pigs must also pursue winter warmth and summer coolness, and polyurethane spray materials need to be applied. At present, the proportion of large-scale pig raising in China is about 10%, compared with 50% in developed countries, the development potential is great, and the demand for polyurethane materials is also considerable. In terms of storage and cold chain, whether it is a cold storage or a general agricultural product warehouse, there are requirements for thermal insulation, and it is also inseparable from polyurethane materials. Pan Lumin estimated that during the epidemic period, the growth rate of my country's cold chain industry could reach more than 30%.

　　 Deepen confidence in investing in China

　　According to relevant regulations, the Pan Lumin trip to mainland China will go through two 14-day quarantines, but the epidemic situation has not stopped Pan Lumin and Huntsman from advancing in China. He has an important job in this trip, which is to attend the commissioning ceremony of the polyurethane compound factory held by Huntsman in Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone on June 11.

"Under the epidemic, the smooth progress of the Tianjin factory project is inseparable from the strong support of the local government departments such as the Nangang Industrial Zone Management Committee and the open and fair business environment that China strives to create. In the face of major emergencies, the Chinese government and The people's unwavering commitment and determination and execution to stabilize society and develop the economy have given us confidence in the resilience and potential of China's economy." Pan Lumin said.

　　Tianjin Combined Material Factory is the first factory established by Huntsman Group in northern China, and has important strategic significance for the continuous deep cultivation of Huntsman in China. Pan Lumin said that since he entered China, Huntsman has invested more than 15 billion yuan. At present, China is Huntsman's second largest market in the world. Last year, the company's Asia-Pacific headquarters was officially settled in Shanghai, which confirms Huntsman's determination and confidence in China's development. Huntsman is confident that it will continue to deepen its investment in China.

　　Sustainable development and market value

　　 Closely combined

　　 In the post-epidemic era, sustainable development remains the strategic focus of Huntsman and is committed to becoming a new economic growth point.

　　 "Over the years, Huntsman's experience in sustainable development is that sustainable development should be closely integrated with economic value creation. Otherwise, this so-called'sustainable' is not sustainable." Pan Lumin told reporters.

　　At the forum, Pan Lumin showed himself wearing an eco-friendly tie made from recycled PET materials such as plastic bottles. The recycled materials used are calculated with 500ml plastic bottles. A tie can consume about 3 plastic bottles. The backpack will consume 14 plastic bottles, and the scarf is 7 plastic bottles.

　　Pan Lumin emphasized that according to statistics, 8.2 million tons of waste plastics flow from the land to the ocean every year, and the global plastic recycling rate is less than 10%. One person uses an average of 300 plastic bottles a year. Therefore, we must vigorously advocate the use of recycled polyurethane products. In May of this year, Huntsman's plant using recycled PET materials to produce polyester polyols was put into operation in Taiwan, China. The current output reaches 22,000 tons, and about 60% of the raw materials come from recycled PET materials. Huntsman Tianjin Polyurethane Compound Plant uses some green Terol polyester polyols as part of its raw materials.

　　As early as 20 years ago, Huntsman began to pay attention to the recycling of PET plastic bottles. Unlike traditional and simple production methods, Huntsman starts from the front-end equipment investment and process technology to perform secondary processing on recycled plastic raw materials. Two new processing processes of chemical alcoholysis and physical filtration are added, plus precise control of the intermediate production process and professional quality testing of back-end products, thus ensuring the stability of Terol polyester polyol products. Now Huntsman can effectively recycle 1 billion 500ml PET plastic bottles every year.

"From the perspective of Huntsman's experience, the development of circular economy needs to pay attention to two aspects. First, the source of recyclable materials must be economical and of high quality. It is not simple recycling, but remanufacturing to give full play to the characteristics of the materials. Second, the new technology must be fully integrated with the downstream market to ensure the economic value of the product. In the next step, we will also consider expanding the production scale of green polyurethane materials in China." Pan Lumin said.