Kstovo (Nizhny Novgorod Region), 4 August 2014. On 3 August, the RusVinyl PVC production facility delivered a test batch of polyvinyl chloride as part of its commissioning process. Several days earlier RusVinyl produced a test batch of caustic soda. The commissioning is still underway, with the launch scheduled for the second half of this year.

Valery Shantsev, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, has visited RusVinyl today to witness the first tonne of Nizhny Novgorod PVC and congratulate RusVinyl's CEO Guenther Nadolny on this milestone event.

"This project is crucial both locally and nationally as a powerful import substitution tool. I believe that before long a production cluster will be formed around Kstovo to process this commodity – polyvinyl chloride, which is used in 20 industries," said Valery Shantsev.

During his meeting with the acting governor of the region, Guenther Nadolny said that comprehensive tests of the production equipment were on track.

"The plant is at the pilot production stage. We have manufactured first high quality batch. The commissioning process is still underway, and once it is finished, the facility will be running continuously," said Guenther Nadolny.

Following the launch, RusVinyl will be producing 330 kt of high-quality PVC a year, using a state-of-the-art green and safe European technology that fully complies with Russia's environmental regulations and international environmental and safety standards. The plant will be producing a number of PVC grades currently not represented in the Russian market.

Polyvinyl chloride is an inert polymer, safe for humans and the environment, used for manufacturing a wide range of products for the construction and automotive industries, healthcare, water utilities and other sectors.

For Editors:

RusVinyl LLC is a joint venture established by OAO SIBUR Holding and SolVin (each having a 50% stake) to construct and operate a PVC production facility near Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. SIBUR owns and operates Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and is a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry. For more information, please, visit www.sibur.com.

SolVin is a joint venture of Solvay (75%) and BASF (25%). It is the second-largest European producer of PVC resins, with the total production capacity of 1.3 mt and 7 production sites throughout Europe. For more information, please, visit www.solvinpvc.com.

The annual production capacity of the RusVinyl plant will be 330 kt of PVC and 225 kt of caustic soda. The facility will utilise one of the best PVC production processes globally, licensed by SolVin.