EX-IM BANK FINANCES POLYSTYRENE PLANT SALE TO RUSSIA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) today approved a $14.4 million loan guarantee to support the export by Belleview Engineering & Construction Co., Plaquemine, La.; Fina Technology, Inc., Plano, Tex.; and numerous U.S. small business suppliers of a polystyrene plant to Russia.
Nizhnekamskneftekhim Open Joint Stock Company (NKNK), a private company located in Tatarstan, Russia, will license Fina's proprietary technology to build a plant with a capacity of 50,000 metric tons of polystyrene per year. Belleview, a small business and the main contractor, will provide engineering, procurement and shipping services.
I am particularly pleased that an estimated 75% of this transaction represents business for small U.S. companies, said Ex-Im Bank Chairman Philip Merrill.
Small business suppliers on the transaction include: FABSCO Shell & Tube, Sapulpa, Okla.; Addison Fabricators Inc., Addison, Ala.; SEPCO Industries Inc., Houston, Tex.; Polymer Equipment Co., Inc., Ingram, Tex.; General Ventures of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, La.; Petrochemical Services Inc., Pasadena, Tex.; Liberty Welding & Iron Works Co., Metarie, La.; and Mixing and Process Equipment, New Orleans, La.
Also participating in the export sale are: Viking Pumps Inc., Cedar Falls, Iowa; Reliance Electric Company, Greenville, S.C.; Dresser Inc., Addison, Tex.; and Conair Groupo Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Citibank , N.A., New York, N.Y., is the guaranteed lender on the transaction.
NKNK currently uses crude oil and associated petroleum gas as feedstocks to produce rubber and a wide range of chemicals, petrochemicals and other products. The company is building the new plant to meet growing market demand for polystyrene.
Ex-Im Bank this year marks its 71st year of helping finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and direct loans. In fiscal year 2003, Ex-Im Bank, an independent federal agency, authorized financing to support $14.3 billion of U.S. exports worldwide. For more information on Ex-Im Bank visit http://www.exim.gov.