Their main application is the manufacture of credit cards. This investment is the first step towards the commissioning of a wholly-owned PVDF production unit in the United States in 2000. The Solvay Group is one of the three largest producers of HDPE in the world and, with Phillips Petroleum, is a market leader in the production of HDPE using slurry loop technology. The agreements concluded with Phillips in the US and TotalFina in Europe on the joint construction of new units are making a substantial contribution to the Group's competitiveness effort. In Europe, the trend in demand has remained good.
Preparations are under way to produce new specialties for medical products.
In the USA, good use was made of production capacities, particularly in the second and third quarters. A certain easing of demand was observed late in the year, resulting from inventory reduction by customers in the processing industry who had made early purchases. In spite of a significant reduction, compared to 1998, in unit margins on ethylene, earnings showed only a relatively modest downturn. As a comparatively small producer of PP, the Group was not unduly affected by the very poor margins in this market in 1999 thanks to its integration in PP compounds. The Solvay Group is the second largest producer of PVC in Europe and fourth largest in the world.