QCP invests 75 million euros in a circular polymer plant at Chemelot

QCP, which stands for Quality Circular Polymers, is a new company that will provide brand owners and plastics convertors with polymers of high and consistent quality, based on used plastics. Such products will enable them to provide sustainable end products on a large scale. Reliable supply, integration, leading technologies, innovative recipes and a strategic participation by SITA, part of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT as supplier of used plastics, will enable QCP to push the circular plastics industry to the next level. QCP is an initiative of Huub Meessen and Marc Houtermans, entrepreneurs with extensive experience in petrochemicals. The investment is strongly supported by local investors.

The nameplate capacity of the plant will be 100,000 ton per year and will be realized in three phases. The total investment amounts to 75 million euros, of which 35 million euros in the first phase, planned to go live by the end of 2015. QCP will create up to 40 direct jobs during phase 1, growing to 100 after phase 3. In addition, 200 to 300 indirect jobs are expected to be created. Focus will be on PP (polypropylene) and PE (polyethylene), two of the main plastics.

Huub Meessen, CEO of QCP, specifically addresses brand owners and plastics convertors: “With the end product in mind, we reach out to co-develop grades for prime applications. That is why it is important that SITA will take care of the backward integration into raw materials, so we can guarantee a reliable supply to customers in high-end applications.”

Herman Snellink, Managing Director SITA Netherlands, adds: “With QCP we will realize a win-win situation, as we will enter downstream markets, creating value from our raw materials. This way we can close the loop, in line with our vision and the vision of many of our customers”.

Marc Houtermans, COO of QCP, stresses the importance of the location: “We will be based at the Chemelot site, the Polymer hotspot, with on-site utilities, direct access to Chemelot Campus, and in the heart of the main customer and supply base. We have the ambition to create a factory of the future, with leading technologies in a modular and flexible set-up, to create sustainable jobs for the region.”

The investment in QCP is the first of the newly formed Chemelot Ventures, which is the successor of Limburg Ventures. For co-investor LIOF it is one of its largest investments of the past few years. It is a substantial investment in a promising company, with immediate volume, scale, critical mass and impact.  In short, it is an initiative with a lot of promise on a top location. At the same time this illustrates the excellent investment climate with Chemelot Industrial Park and Chemelot Campus as a combination”, says Jérôme Verhagen, managing director NV Industriebank LIOF and member of the Chemelot Ventures Supervisory Board.