MOL Group’s and JSR Corporation’s synthetic rubber plant (S-SBR) has been inaugurated on Monday. The plant employs cutting edge technology and will manufacture annually 60,000 tons of synthetic rubber creating more than 100 new jobs.

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman-CEO of MOL Group and Koichi Kawasaki, Executive Managing Officer, JSR Corporation have inaugurated the synthetic rubber plant of the two companies in Tiszaújváros, Hungary.

The new unit will produce 60,000 tons of solution polymerization styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR), a highly sought after chemical product globally. The most important feedstock of S-SBR is butadiene, which is produced by MOL at an adjacent plant commissioned in 2015. Featuring a characteristic molecular structure, S-SBR is highly valued worldwide as a raw material of a fuel-efficient tire known as an “eco-friendly tire”, due to its excellent industry-leading properties suited to fuel-efficient tires and wet grip performance.

MOL and JSR Corporation reached an agreement in 2013 to establish a joint venture with 51% held by JSR and 49% by MOL. The construction of the plant started in 2015.

“MOL has further extended its petrochemical value chain with one of the world’s most innovative product. We are proud that year after year MOL is able to produce more specialized and more profitable products. There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we are well on track to reach our strategic goal and become a leading chemical company in Central Eastern Europe by 2030.” – said Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman-CEO of MOL Group.

One of the cornerstones of MOL Group 2030 – Enter Tomorrow strategy is to expand the company’s petrochemicals value chain and produce more valuable products used in the automotive industry, as well as for packaging, construction and electronics. As such the company plans to invest around USD 4.5 billion until the end of the next decade into petrochemical and chemical growth projects.