Total to invests €160mn in Carling petrochemical platform

-The European decision-making center.
-The European Research & Development activities.
- A new production unit for Ricon and Krasol (C4 resins), designed to capture the growth in demand for touch screen additives, high performance tires and lubricants.
-The existing Norsolene (C9 resins) unit for adhesives will be transformed to produce high-quality Waterwhite transparent resins.
-Create a thermoplastics unit (polypropylene compound*) to meet new demand from the automotive market for innovative plastics to replace steel and thereby make vehicles lighter and more fuel-efficient.
-Invest in new capacity to strengthen the platform’s polystyrene* leadership in Europe. Carling will be the priority polystyrene production center for Total, which has almost 25% share of the European polystyrene market.
-Upgrade the polyethylene production unit in order to improve its capability to deliver advanced plastics to the medical and electric cable markets.

Total intends to carry out this industrial redeployment plan without any redundancies. The Group has made a firm commitment to provide each employee concerned with a satisfactory solution tailored to his or her situation. Of the 554 jobs at the Carling site, 344 will be maintained on the platform as from 2016, including 110 created by the new production units.

Under French law, the project is subject to the process of notifying and consulting employee representatives. By announcing its plans early, Total is demonstrating its commitment to pursuing meaningful dialogue with employee representative organizations with whom consultation has already been engaged since July.

Total will of course respect all of the company’s contractual commitments to its customers and will deploy the logistical investments required to ensure the delivery of ethylene and propylene.

The Group is also committed to supporting the partner companies impacted by the upgrade program, in particular by setting up a support fund.

“We have chosen to anticipate this announcement in order to give everyone time to adjust to this industrial evolution. In this way, we’ll have time to ensure that every employee finds a personalized solution. We are also committed to supporting our partner companies impacted by the project. Naturally, the Group will continue to fulfill all of its obligations to customers. In close collaboration with regional and national authorities, Total reaffirms its strong willingness to remain a partner in shaping the industrial future of the Lorraine Region,” explains Patrick Pouyanné.

Total