The PQS Complex, composed of the Pernambuco Petrochemical Company (Petroquímica Suape) and the Pernambuco Integrated Textiles Company (Citepe), started to produce PET resin at one of its operational units on Monday, August 4. The start-up of this plant is a milestone for Brazilian industry this year. Wholly owned Petrobras subsidiaries, Petroquímica Suape and Citepe, located at the Suape Port Industrial Complex in Pernambuco, represent an important hub for South American polyester production.

Last year, the PQS Complex began producing purified terephthalic acid (PTA) – the main raw material in the polyester chain – and expanded its capacity to produce polyester filament – the main input for the global textiles industry – and now it will start supplying PET resin to the Brazilian packaging industry.

The PET resin plant will have two production lines: the one that has just started up, which will produce 225,000 metric tons per year; and another expected to start up in the first half of 2015. The first production line alone will make Brazil self-sufficient and an exporter of this product, supporting the growth of the PET packaging market besides enabling further investment in different sectors that are starting to use this product.

When it is fully operating next year, the PQS Complex will produce 450,000 metric tons of PET resin per year. This resin is a globally popular polymer, which has become the best and most resistant plastic to make bottles and packaging for soft drinks, water, sports drinks, juices, edible oils, medicines, cosmetics, personal hygiene and cleaning products, spirits and beer, among other things.

The boom in the use of PET as packaging is mainly due to its technical characteristics, which provide high resistance to impacts and a distinctive bright, transparent appearance. Given these attributes, PET packaging is lighter and more resistant than traditional packaging, cutting transport and production costs while offering consumers a more economical, convenient, safe and modern product.

Besides cutting-edge technology and a large production scale, the PQS Complex offers the market different types of resin. Most of the product sales will be domestic. Around 20% of the first production line will be assigned for export to other South American countries, the Caribbean and the United States.

About the PQS Complex

Located on a 70-hectare site in the Suape Port Industrial Complex in Pernambuco, the PQS Complex is composed of plants that produce purified terephthalic acid (PTA), PET resin and polyester filament, all of which are currently operating.