US embassy cable - 02ROME3755

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 003755 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/ERA 
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC DE FALCO 
DEPT PASS TO "ALL EUROPEAN UNION POST COLLECTIVE" 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TPHY, ETRD, SENV, ETRD, SENV, IT, ITTPHY 
SUBJECT: OLD AND NEW STYLE CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS IN SICILY 
 
REF: ROME 3390 
 
1. SUMMARY. ON 24 AUGUST A/ECMIN VISITED THE PRIOLO 
INDUSTRIAL AREA IN SOUTHERN SICILY TO MEET WITH DOW ITALIA 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 02        ROME  03755  01 OF 02  011426Z 
AND POLIMERI EUROPA, TOUR THEIR FACILITIES, AND ACQUIRE 
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPANIES TO PAVE THE WAY FOR 
FUTURE DISCUSSIONS ON EU CHEMICALS POLICY.  DOW IS THE 
LARGEST CHEMICAL COMPANY OPERATING IN ITALY, AND POLIMERI 
EUROPA IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF POLYETHYLENES IN EUROPE. 
THE VERY DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL STRUCTURES AND STYLE OF THE 
COMPANIES SUGGESTS THAT WE MAY FIND DIFFERENT KNOWLEDGE 
ABOUT THE EU PROPOSALS; PE PLANTS FUNCTION AS PRODUCTION 
UNITS WITH LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF POLICY OR MANAGEMENT ISSUES, 
WHEREAS DOW HAS INTEGRATED ITS PRODUCTION/RESEARCH 
FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL INTO OVERALL CORPORATE MANAGEMENT. 
END SUMMARY. 
2. THE INDUSTRIAL SECTION OF PRIOLO WAS BUILT AS A SINGLE, 
MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPLEX IN THE 1950S BY THE GOI, THEN 
PRIVATIZED IN THE EARLY 1960S. THE PRIOLO SITE, WHICH 
OCCUPIES 900 HECTARES NORTH OF SYRACUSE, CONTAINS PLANTS 
OWNED BY AGIP, ENICHEM, DOW, POLIMERI EUROPA, ERG, AND ESSO. 
SOME OF THESE COMPANIES FUNCTION INTERDEPENDENTLY AT THE 
PRIOLO SITE, TRANSPORTING PRODUCTS AND/OR INTERMEDIATES TO 
OTHER COMPANIES IN THE VICINITY.  THE PRIOLO PLANTS SHARE AN 
EXTENSIVE SECURITY SYSTEM AND THE SAME SHIPYARD FOR 
TRANSPORTATION OF MATERIALS. IN ADDITION, THEY ALL BELONG TO 
CIPA, THE INDUSTRIAL CONSORTIUM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL 
PROTECTION, AND SHARE A COMMON BIOLOGICAL PLANT FOR 
TREATMENT OF WASTEWATER (IAS), WHICH IS THE LARGEST OF ITS 
KIND IN EUROPE AND THE FIFTH LARGEST IN THE WORLD.  IAS'S 
CURRENT GOAL IS TO RECYCLE THREE MILLION CUBIC METERS OF 
WASTEWATER FROM INDUSTRY; ITS FUTURE GOAL WILL BE TEN 
MILLION CUBIC METERS. 
 
3. A/ECMIN FIRST MET WITH POLIMERI EUROPA (PE) PERSONNEL 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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FROM PRIOLO. PE, BASED IN MILAN, PRODUCES TWENTY DIFFERENT 
LOW-DENSITY LINEAR POLYETHYLENE (LDLPE) PRODUCTS, AS WELL AS 
PROPYLENE, CUMENE, AND AROMATICS SUCH AS BENZENE, ORTHO- AND 
PARA- XYLENE, AND TOLUENE.  PE HAS TWO OTHER SICILIAN PLANTS 
AT GELA AND RAGUSA; BOTH PRODUCE LDLPES, AND GELA ALSO 
PRODUCES SMALL AMOUNTS OF ETHYLENE AND PROPYLENE. THE PRIOLO 
FACILITY IS THE LARGEST OF THE THREE IN TERMS OF BOTH SIZE 
AND OUTPUT, OCCUPYING THREE MILLION SQUARE METERS OF LAND 
AND PRODUCING 745 KILOTONS OF ETHYLENE, 440 KTN OF 
PROPYLENE, 440 KTN OF BENZENE, AND 200 KTN OF LDLPE PER 
YEAR. IT HAS 565 EMPLOYEES AND A STORAGE CAPACITY OF 98,000 
CUBIC METERS.  THE AROMATICS PLANT WAS INSTALLED FROM 1964- 
1971, AND THE CRACKING PLANT IN 1981.  THE EQUIPMENT IN THE 
ETHYLENE PLANT, WHERE PE IS GRADUALLY EMPLOYING MORE 
ADVANCED COMPUTERIZED CONTROLS AND MONITORING SYSTEMS, WAS 
INSTALLED IN 1987.  THERE IS NO PE RESEARCH UNIT AT THE 
PRIOLO SITE; RESEARCH INTO AROMATICS AND CRACKING TAKES 
PLACE AT A MILAN FUNCTIONARY. 
 
4. PE RECEIVES MONOMERIC ETHYLENE AND PROPYLENE FROM ENICHEM 
PRIOLO, WHICH CAN THEN BE SUBJECTED TO VINYL POLIMERIZATION/ 
ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYSIS, CREATING A STRONG LINEAR 
POLYETHYLENE.  PE ALSO RECEIVES AROMATIC C-6 FRACTIONS FROM 
ERG, HYDROGEN FUEL GAS FROM ESSO PRIOLO, AND TRANSPORTS 
MONOMERIC ETHYLENE AND AMMONIA VIA PIPELINE TO THE PLANTS AT 
GELA AND RAGUSA. 
 
5. A/ECMIN JOINED NAPLES CONGEN CLYDE BISHOP AT THE DOW 
ITALIA POLYURETHANES SITE TO MEET WITH DOW PERSONNEL FROM 
PRIOLO AND MANAGEMENT FROM DOW'S MILAN HEADQUARTERS. THIS 
PARTICULAR PLANT WAS ACQUIRED FROM ENICHEM'S POLYURETHANES 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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DIVISION IN 2001, WHICH HAD ACQUIRED IT FROM UNION CARBIDE 
IN 1990.  AT THIS TIME, DOW ALSO ACQUIRED OTHER ENICHEM 
POLYURETHANES PLANTS, ALL EQUIPPED WITH RESEARCH FACILITIES, 
IN BRINDISI, PORTO MARGHERA (NEAR VENICE), AND TERTRO, 
BELGIUM.  WITH THESE ACQUISITIONS, DOW IS NOW THE LARGEST 
CHEMICAL COMPANY OPERATING IN ITALY.  THE PRIOLO SITE'S 
PRINCIPAL MARKETS LIE IN NORTH AFRICA, TURKEY, AND ITALY. 
THE PLANT, WHICH HAS 97 EMPLOYEES, PRODUCES ETHYL OXIDES 
(ETHERS), GLYCOLS, POLYGLYCOLS, AND POLYOLS.  THESE PRODUCTS 
ARE USED FOR COOLING FLUIDS, PHARMACEUTICALS, OIL FIELDS, 
COATINGS, AGRICULTURE, SHOE SOLES, AND AS RAW MATERIALS FOR 
POLYURETHANE SYNTHESIS.  WHEN MEETING WITH MANAGEMENT FROM 
DOW MILAN, A/ECMIN SUGGESTED DISCUSSION OF SUSTAINABLE 
DEVELOPMENT IN ADDITION TO PREVIOUS PLANS FOR A SEPTEMBER 
MEETING ON EU CHEMICALS POLICY.  DOW MILAN SEEMED EAGER AND 
PREPARED TO DISCUSS AT A LATER DATE. 
 
6. COMMENT: A/ECMIN PLANS TO USE THESE SITE VISITS AS 
STARTING POINTS FOR DISCUSSION OF THE EU CHEMICALS WHITE 
PAPER AND DERIVATIVE TEXTS.  THE VERY DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL 
STRUCTURES AND STYLE OF THE COMPANIES SUGGESTS THAT WE MAY 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
                           UNCLASSIFIED     PTQ9359 
 
PAGE 01        ROME  03755  02 OF 02  011426Z 
ACTION EUR-00 
 
INFO  LOG-00   EB-00    UTED-00  TEDE-00  OES-01   TEST-00  SAS-00 
        /001W 
                  ------------------D3455E  011426Z /03 
R 311419Z JUL 02 
FM AMEMBASSY ROME 
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5173 
USDOC WASHDC 
INFO AMCONSUL MILAN 
AMCONSUL FLORENCE 
AMCONSUL NAPLES 
 
UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 003755 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/ERA 
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC DE FALCO 
DEPT PASS TO "ALL EUROPEAN UNION POST COLLECTIVE" 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TPHY, ETRD, SENV, IT 
SUBJECT: OLD AND NEW STYLE CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS IN SICILY 
 
FIND DIFFERENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EU PROPOSALS.  POLIMERI 
EUROPA PRIOLO IS A PRODUCTION UNIT THAT RECEIVES 
INSTRUCTIONS FROM ITS MILAN HEADQUARTERS.  THEIR HQ DOES NOT 
CONSULT REGULARLY WITH PRODUCTION LEADERS, 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 02        ROME  03755  02 OF 02  011426Z 
AND THE PLANT 
RECEIVES NEW TECHNOLOGIES AS DECIDED BY MILAN (AS NOTED, 
THEY HAVE NO ON-SITE RESEARCH FACILITY). ACCORDINGLY, WE 
WILL DIRECT OUR EFFORTS TO THE MILAN HEADQUARTERS OF THE 
COMPANY.   IN CONTRAST, DOW MANAGEMENT INTERACTS WITH ITS 
PRIOLO PLANT PERSONNEL, WHO ARE WELL VERSED ON POLICY ISSUES 
AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY.  ON SITE, DOW WAS A 
CORPORATE CULTURE TEAM THAT WAS INTEGRATING THE DOW GLOBAL 
MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY WITH THE STYLE INHERITED FROM ENICHEM. 
DOW MANAGEMENT IS CLEARLY ATTENTIVE TO CHANGES IN THE POLICY 
ARENA WHICH MAY AFFECT THEIR BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN EUROPE 
AND ELSEWHERE. 
 
7. THIS MESSAGE WAS PREPARED BY SCIENCE SECTION INTERN ANNE 
MARIEL PETERS. 
 
SEMBLER 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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 2002ROME03755 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED