Our story

Here at Alpek, we are proud to share our story — it’s one of growth and leveraging opportunities through strategic acquisitions, joint ventures and expansions. But equally, it’s one of touching people’s lives through our products, innovations, and commitment to sustainability. Come along with us on our journey!

1975
Launching a successful acquisition of Polioles and Nylon de México, we entered the petrochemical industry with an initial product offering of glycols, polyurethanes, and fibers, both nylon and polyester.
1977
Finding growing success, we expanded into the polyester fiber business acquiring Fibras Quimicas that over time evolved into Akra Polyester.
1978
By acquiring Petrocel in 1978, we were able to integrate into dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), a feedstock that is used to produce polyester and is similar to Purified terephthalic acid (PTA). That same year, we also formed a strategic alliance with BASF which boosted our expandable polystyrene (EPS), polyurethane, and specialty chemical businesses.
1988
Jumping forward to 1988, we acquired Tereftalatos Mexicanos, our first PTA plant.
1991
Forming a strategic alliance with LyondellBasell, we began operations of our first polypropylene plant in Mexico.
1994
Alpek was created to manage our petrochemical businesses.
1995
As the newly-formed Alpek, we integrated a nylon fiber business by acquiring Univex, a caprolactam plant in Salamanca, Mexico.
1996
In a joint venture with BASF, we expanded Polioles’ EPS capacity with the construction of a new facility in Altamira, Mexico.
1997
Finding a hospitable environment, Alpek expanded its polyester business by building a new PTA plant in Altamira, Mexico
1999
In 1999, Alpek and LyondellBassell collaboratively built a propylene splitter in Altamira, Mexico to enhance Indelpro’s production capabilities.
2001
For its first entry into the US market, Alpek acquired polyester assets marking our inaugural foray into Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a thermoplastic polymer resin used in containers and fibers for clothing.
2003
As part of our assertive growth plan, we expanded the Cooper River site in South Carolina thereby significantly increasing our PET capacity.
2005
Alpek initiated a sizable expansion of the Altamira facility’s EPS capacity, which boosted it to the largest EPS site in the Americas.
2007
As consumer demand continued to grow, we acquired our first PET manufacturing facilities in both Mexico and Argentina.
2008
Alpek and LyondellBassell expanded Indelpro’s capacity with a second production line at their Altamira site. At present, Indelpro operates an installed capacity of 640K tons per year.
2010
Seeing the broad need for recycling in the petrochemical industries, we entered into a strategic alliance with Shaw Industries to build one of the largest post-consumer PET recycling facilities in North America.
2011
To further expand our polyester capabilities, we acquired Wellman’s PET plant in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Eastman’s integrated PTA-PET site in Columbia, South Carolina. That same year, Alpek acquired the intellectual property rights for IntegRex® technology.
2012
Alpek goes public and is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange using the ticker symbol ALPEKA. That same year, we were issued our first bond through international debt markets receiving “Investment Grade” ratings from Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poors.
2015
We successfully integrated our EPS facilities (recently acquired from BASF) in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile and created an aggregate capacity of 65 thousand tons per year.
2016
Alpek further expanded by acquiring an EPS plant in Concon, Chile, with a 20 thousand ton per year capacity, as well as a controlling interest in Selenis Canada, Inc., Canada’s sole PET producer operating a plant in Québec with an annual capacity of 144 thousand tons.
2018
Alpek saw further growth by acquiring both Companhia Petroquímica de Pernambuco (“PetroquímicaSuape”) and Companhia Integrada Têxtil de Pernambuco (“Citepe”) from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”). And a joint venture between Alpek, Far Eastern, and Indorama acquired the Corpus Christi Polymers project on equal terms with a nominal capacity of 1.1 million and 1.3 million metric tons per year of PET and PTA, respectively.
2019
Heading into 2019, Alpek acquired Perpetual Recycling Solutions, LLC, located in Richmond, Indiana, increasing the rPET capacity by 45 thousand tons per year. We also acquired Lotte Chemical UK Limited, a site that operates a PET site with a capacity of 350 thousand tons and spearheading Alpek’s business entry into Europe.
2020
Alpek acquired two Expandable Styrenics facilities through its subsidiary Styropek from NOVA Chemical Corporation - one in Monaca, Pennsylvania, and Painseville, Ohio - including an R&D pilot plant.
2021
Alpek acquired CarbonLITE's state-of-the-art PET recycling facility in Reading, Pennsylvania. This increased Alpek's installed rPET capacity to 394 thousand tons, reaffirming its position as largest PET recycler in the Americas.
2022
Alpek acquired OCTAL, integrating the company into the high-value PET sheet business segment with 400 ktons of capacity. Additionally, it increased its PET resin capacity by 576 ktons which will help meet customers' increased demand.
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