Borealis AG is an Austrian chemical company and is the world's eighth largest producer of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
Overview
Borealis is an international provider of polyolefins, base chemicals, and fertilizers. The company has its head office in Vienna, Austria and currently employs about 6,900 people throughout over 120 countries. In 2020, Borealis generated a net profit of about EUR 589 million. The company operates primarily in Europe, with manufacturing plants in Belgium, Central Europe (Austria and Germany), Finland, and Sweden. It also operates compounding units in Brazil, Italy, and the United States, two "innovation centres", its European Innovation Headquarters, as well as customer service centres in several countries.
At the beginning of 2017, the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala merged. Mubadala, through its holding company, owned 64% of Borealis, with the remaining 36% belonging to Austria-based OMV, an integrated, international oil and gas company. As of autumn 2020 OMV now owns 75% of Borealis, while Mubadala owns 25%.
Borealis provides services and products globally in collaboration with Borouge, a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
Innovation
Borealis employs over 500 people in research and development. There are two research centres in Sweden and Finland, as well as the European Innovation Headquarters in Linz, Austria. In the latter, 300 experts from 30 different nations work on the implementation of new ideas. In 2019, Borealis filed a total of 179 new patent priority applications, which is more than any other Austrian company.
History
Borealis was founded in 1994 by the merging of the petrochemical interests of Finnish Oil company Neste and the Norwegian oil company Statoil (now renamed Equinor). In 1998, the petrochemicals sector of OMV was included; OMV and IPIC took over the 50% business share of Neste. In 2005, Statoil gave up its share of Borealis and one year later, in June 2006, the headquarters was relocated from Copenhagen to Vienna. Mubadala, through its holding company, owns 64% of the company, with the remaining 36% owned by OMV, an integrated, international oil and gas company.
Products
Polyolefins
The polyolefin products manufactured by Borealis form the basis of many plastics applications that are an intrinsic part of our daily lives. Borealis polyolefins have a role to play in saving energy along the value chain and promoting more efficient use of natural resources.
Consumer products
Borealis supplies superior polyolefin plastic materials used in consumer products, advanced packaging and fibre. More specifically, Borealis polyolefins are used to make applications possible in flexible packaging (including blown film, heat seal and extrusion coating), rigid packaging (caps and closures, bottles, thin wall packaging, thermoforming), non-woven and technical fibres, and appliances.
Automotive
Borealis supplies polyolefin plastic materials for engineering applications in the automotive industry. Plastic materials replace conventional materials such as metal, rubber and engineering polymers. In automotive vehicles, Borealis’ polyolefin plastic materials are used in a wide range of exterior, interior, and under-the-bonnet applications, including bumpers, body panels, trims, dashboards, door claddings, climate control and cooling systems, air intake manifolds and battery cases.
Energy
The company provides extra-high, high and medium voltage cable applications as well as semi-conductive products that are used for energy transmission and distribution, data and communication cables, and for building and automotive wires and cables.
Pipes and fittings
Borealis offers pipes used in water and gas supply, waste water and sewage disposal, in-house plumbing and heating, and the oil and gas industry, including multi-layer coatings for onshore and offshore oil and gas pipelines.
New business development
The company develops products in the areas of healthcare, plastomers and foamable materials.
Base chemicals
Borealis produces a wide range of base chemicals such as melamine, phenol, acetone, ethylene and propylene for use in numerous and diverse industries, as well as fertilizers and technical nitrogen products.
Hydrocarbons and energy
Borealis sources basic feedstock such as naphtha, butane, propane and ethane from the international oil and gas markets and converts these into ethylene, propylene and cracker co-products through its hydrocarbon units.