GC Oxirane Co., Ltd.
Flawless Market Entry with “GCO” Brand Prestige Using Trusted Sumitomo’s
Propylene Oxide Cumene Technology
Fulfilled smooth start-up and stable operation resulting in earliest market entry and satisfaction for all the stakeholders.
Why Sumitomo Propylene Oxide Cumene (POC) Technology License was selected?
The general manager of Sumitomo Chemical Technology Licensing Team recalls the deal with GC Oxirane (GCO), the subsidiary company of PTT Global Chemical, as follows;
“When we started to communicate with GCO as a potential Licensee, we believe that our Sumitomo Propylene Oxide Cumene (POC) Technology will contribute to the diversification of GCO’s C3 business portfolio. However, at the same time, we recognized that there were lots of challenges to set up a new business field where Licensee would newly enter.
We thought the keys to overcome the above challenges were technology competitiveness, operational excellence and product quality to fully break into PO market.
In a series of our business talks, we explained the following reasons why Sumitomo POC Technology could lead the success of GCO’s new business;
- Operational excellence: outstanding reputation compared to other on-purpose PO technologies,
- Sustainability (market resilience): focusing on what we really want via the on-purpose technology,
- Proven Quality: outstanding reputation and proven quality in the global market.
Finally, our most trusted technology, Sumitomo POC Technology, was selected.”
How did Sumitomo POC License help GCO?
The deputy manager, in charge of technical support also looks back on those days as follows;
“It was our honor to provide technical support for commissioning and start-up despite very challenging logistics during the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic. GCO and Sumitomo team smoothly started-up the POC plant and completed the performance test run at the first trial, followed by stable plant operations till date, without any process-related troubles or major trips. GCO’s operators told us that the Sumitomo POC technology is operator friendly in all respects.
During the course of project development, engineering, construction, start-up and commercial operation, GCO demonstrated their business competitiveness, operational excellence and presence in the market, and as a result, GCO succeeded in strengthening their trust with all of their stakeholders. We are proud that GCO not only succeeded in their original goal of early market entry through smooth diversification of their C3 portfolio but had also succeeded in taking the critical steps towards environmental circularity through the sustainable features of the Sumitomo POC technology.”
Remarks by Sumitomo Chemical
This is a success story that demonstrates that GCO was able to achieve smooth and early entry into a new business. Sumitomo recognizes that diversifying the chemical portfolio and flawless entry into the PO market were critical challenges that GCO successfully overcame as the flagship chemical company in Thailand. GCO’s success is especially noteworthy given the fact that all the requirements are satisfied in terms of project economics, safety, environmental regulations, operational excellence, product quality, etc.
Although Sumitomo POC technology is quite sophisticated and has been perfected through long-term operation experiences, Sumitomo has been providing various support for GCO to satisfy other stringent criteria imposed by the stakeholders from the period of project development to commercial operation.
Even now, Sumitomo continues to provide timely technical consultation to optimize the GCO plant operation, beyond standard licensing practice (normally licensor’s obligation is up to performance test). Sumitomo is proud to have accompanied GCO along their journey and success story, enhancing GCO’s brand prestige and continuing to spread Sumitomo’s trust via our various innovative technologies.