Nan Ya, FET vie for top spot in polyester sector

Taipei, June 17, 2003 (CENS)-- Nan Ya Plastics Corp. of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) and Far Eastern Textile Corp.(FET) of the Far Eastern Group are locked in battle for the top position in Taiwan's polyester market.

Nan Ya has topped FET in supplying polyester raw materials, while FET has outperformed Nan Ya in the production of bottle-grade polyester chips.

Over the past decade FPG has established oil refinery, naphtha cracking and aroma production facilities in order to make ethylene, a material for ethylene glycol (EG), and paraxylene (PX), a material used to make purified terephthalic acid (PTA). In both markets, FPG has outpaced Far Eastern Group.

Far Eastern Group has been focusing on elevating product quality rather than competing with FPG on production quantity alone. Group chairman Douglas Tong Hsu said that his company aims to produce the world's best bottle-grade polyester chips.

Nan Ya is currently Taiwan's leader in the production of super-slim filaments and "island" yarn, but it still cannot obtain certificates from some world-class firms, such as Coca Cola, for bottle-grade polyester chips.

Nan Ya has been on par with FET in terms of the output of bottle-grade polyester chips. But the company said it will outpace its rival next year when it inaugurates a new production facility in Vietnam. The company has also applied for permission from the mainland Chinese authorities to establish a new bottle-grade polyester chip plant there.

To keep its No.1 position, Far Eastern Group recently has announced it would soon expand production of bottle-grade polyester chips on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Both Nan Ya and Far Eastern Textile believe bottle-grade polyester chips are one of the most promising products in the next few years. In the past decade, demand for the material has grown at a compound annual rate of 12%, topping other polyester products.