The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) inaugurated on Tuesday the first ever polyacetal (POM) plant in the Middle East and Africa region at its joint venture manufacturing affiliate, the National Methanol Company (Ibn Sina), in Jubail, reported the Saudi Press Agency. This marks another milestone in its growth strategy in the highly competitive global engineering thermoplastics industry. The new plant, with a capacity of 50,000 metric tons, was opened at a ceremony in the presence of SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO, Yousef Al-Benyan, SABIC executives and representatives from the joint venture partner, CTE, which is jointly owned by Celanese Corporation and Duke Energy. The new plant reflects SABIC’s 2025 strategy to provide new polymer solutions that meets customer challenges for changing market requirements and supports the development of local content in national industries, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. Executive Vice President of Petrochemicals at SABIC Abdurrahman Al-Fageeh said: “The startup of the plant reflects our strategic commitment to diversify our solutions. We seek to create long-term value for our customers in a range of industries, including automotive, building and construction, consumer goods, appliances and lighting. This is how we create chemistry that matters.” Celanese Vice President Marcel van Amerongen stated: “Ibn Sina is a fine example of successful collaboration between two large industrial companies by combining knowledge and a strong commitment. The new plant is expected to make a long-term contribution to the local economy and support the growth of the plastics industry.” Polyacetal is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic material that has the potential to replace metal in many applications due to its high strength, exceptional dimensional stability and ease of machining. It makes an excellent candidate for applications in diverse industries such as automotive, construction, electronics, appliances, commodities and consumer goods.