- Restart of construction works as of 3 October 2022, focused on the mechanical works and highly specialized piping of Borealis’ new Propane Dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Kallo, Belgium
- Thorough social controls have been set in place to respect and value the workers on site
- Ponticelli and Borealis are committed to set a new standard for industrial construction works
- Start-up expected during the second half of 2024
According to the company’s website media release on October 3, 2022, Following a standstill for 80% of the construction works in the Kallo PDH project, Borealis carried out a re-tendering process for the Mechanical and Piping construction works. After careful consideration, Borealis has now granted a majority of these works to the contractor Ponticelli. Works on the construction site will now further gradually increase as of 3 October 2022.
The prolonged standstill and gradual re-start of the project has consequences for the timeline of the project. Borealis expects start-up of the new PDH plant during the second half of 2024.
Borealis has zero tolerance for any malpractices. Borealis has implemented these measures to identify and address any potential lack of control by (sub)contractors:
All workers and (sub)contractors are informed and encouraged to make use of Borealis’ ethics hotline. This tool is accessible for Borealis workers and externals and allows for ethics-related concerns to be filed in 24 languages. In this way we can best early detect wrongdoings and take the required measures in the shortest timeframe
Borealis has reinforced its contractor auditing and vetting process to ensure that our contractors are effectively controlling their subcontractors.
To ensure further compliance, we ask each contractor and subcontractor to sign a formal binding declaration prior to deployment on the site in which they formally confirm to be fully compliant with applicable Belgian labour, social security and tax laws.
“We feel sorry for the workers employed by subcontractors for what has happened to them. Borealis has a zero tolerance policy regarding human rights violations, and we act accordingly. With the restart of the construction with Ponticelli, Borealis has further strengthened its standards for major expansion projects in a safe way,” comments Philippe Roodhooft, Borealis Executive Vice President. “Any contractor who does not comply with highest professional standards, be it directly or indirectly, disqualifies as a partner for us.”
“We are very grateful to Borealis for their confidence in these delicate times, which displayed our shared value to never compromise on our most important asset: our People,” comments Thierry Le Gangneux, CEO of Ponticelli. “And thanks to the reinforced connection between our Groups, we are more committed than ever to make this project a success.”
Media contacts:
Borealis
Virginia Wieser
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications,
Brand & Reputation
Borealis Communications Belgium
Anne Cornelissen
Expert Communications
T +43 1 22 400 772 (Vienna, Austria)
tel.: +32 475 56 02 31 or + 32 11 45 90 66 (Belgium)
media.belgium@borealisgroup.com
Ponticelli
Bertrand Wyns
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Bertrand.Wyns@hkstrategies.com
About Borealis
Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions and a European front-runner in polyolefins recycling. In Europe, we are a market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers. We leverage our polymer expertise and decades of experience to offer value adding, innovative and circular material solutions for key industries such as consumer products, energy, healthcare, infrastructure and mobility.
In re-inventing essentials for sustainable living, we build on our commitment to safety, our people, innovation and technology, and performance excellence. We are accelerating the transformation to a circular economy of polyolefins and expanding our geographical footprint to better serve our customers around the globe.
With head offices in Vienna, Austria, we employ 6,900 employees and operate in over 120 countries. In 2021, we generated total sales of EUR 12.342 EUR billion and a net profit of EUR 1,396 million. OMV, the Austria-based international oil and gas company, owns 75% of our shares, while the remaining 25% is owned by a holding company of the Abu-Dhabi based Mubadala. We supply services and products to customers around the globe through Borealis and two important joint ventures: Borouge (with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, based in UAE); and Baystar™ (with TotalEnergies, based in the US).
About Borealis in Belgium
Borealis operates three production sites in Belgium, Kallo, Zwijndrecht and Beringen as well as a shared service centre in Mechelen with a total of about 1200 employees:
In Beringen, Borealis has two polypropylene (PP) plants and a compounding plant. The main application areas served from Borealis in Beringen are advanced packaging, hygiene and electronic applications and automotive industry.
www.borealisgroup.com/beringen
At Kallo, Borealis produces polypropylene and also operates a dehydrogenation unit to convert propane to propylene. In 2019 the construction works for a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Kallo started. It will be one of the largest and most efficient facilities in the world.
www.borealisgroup.com/kallo
In Zwijndrecht, Borealis produces ethylene copolymers and polyethylene divided over two high pressure reactor lines used for polyethylene (PE) compounds for low density polyethylene and material handling facilities. Main application area is wire & cable industry. www.borealisgroup.com/zwijndrecht
The Borealis Digital Studio was set up near Brussels in 2018 as an autonomous unit within the Borealis Digitalisation Programme and consists of a team of around 30 digital professionals. It is the company’s agile enabler for developing smart and proven added-value business solutions based on design thinking principles.
About Ponticelli
Ponticelli Frères is an independent and family-owned international group providing industrial services mainly to companies in the energy, chemical, pharmaceutical and defense sectors. Ponticelli with its 5,000 employees accompanies its clients all over the world in the design, construction and maintenance of their production facilities. With a head office in Paris, France, Ponticelli operates in 20 countries. In 2021, it generated a turnover of €790 million.
