Vertellus opens new cyanopyridine plant in China
The plant in Nantong, Jiangsu province houses 10,000 metric tonnes of 3-cyanopyridine production capacity and is operated by Vertellus’ pyridine and picolines unit, Nantong Reilly Chemicals Company (NRCC), which has been present in China since 2001.
Cyanopyridines have a variety of pharmaceutical applications but are primarily used as intermediates in the production of anti-inflammatories and anti-infectives. They are also used in the manufacture of vitamin supplements.
Vertellus CEO Rich Preziotti said: “The demand for pyridine derivatives including Vitamin B3 and 3-cyanopyridine has increased significantly worldwide and particularly in Asia.
“We intend to maintain our technology and market leadership position in pyridine chemistry and have developed an aggressive strategic plan to continue to grow our presence in China. We are strengthening our ability to serve customers across Asia.”
The performance of the new plant is sure to be the focus of much industry attention given that, in late November, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) cut its credit rating on Vertellus, predicting that future spending on the Nantong facility could hurt the firm.
S&P analyst Henry Fukuchi said: “The negative outlook reflects continuing weak operating trends at Vertellus resulting from elevated raw material costs across both of its segments."
“If operating results do not improve, we believe that liquidity could deteriorate in the next few quarters, particularly due to additional cash outlays anticipated for its China B3/3 cyanopyridine expansion and new multiple pyridine derivatives capital expenditures.”
The firm did not respond to in-Pharmatechnologist.com’s request for comment.
